PROMINENT VISITORS TO OUR MUSEUM
(and what they have contributed to our knowledge about the instruments in the collection)
Antonio Airenti
An excellent bowmaker from Genova, Italy, Mr. Airenti has conducted exhaustive studies of the bow collections in most European museums. His extended visits to our museum produced an extraordinary, scientifically precise catalog of the collection,which very much merits your attention. Here his page:
Antonio AirentiDr. Mia Awouters
Scientific researcher of the Musical Instrument Museum BrusselsCharles Beare
One of the world's most eminent experts on fine old violins. On his visit to the collection he helped establish the identity of some of the instruments of doubtful origin.Dr. Micha Beuting
Hamburg University: Institute for Wood Biology. Together with Dr. Peter Klein (see below), Dr. Beuting has conducted a series of dendrochronological investigations with the purpose of determining precisely the ages of instruments in the collection. The first results, which are quite astonishing, can be seen here:More about dendrochronology (scientifically determining the age of an instrument)
Dendrochronology explainedEric Blot
A French violin-maker, working in Cremona, Eric Blot has published a number of books on Italian violin making of the 19th and 20th C. On his visit to the collection in Vienna, Mr. Blot was able to more precisely identify one of the violins.Christophe Coin
One of the foremost violist da gamba and violoncellist performing on period instruments today and the president of the Viola da gamba Society of FranceAndrew Dipper
An English violin maker and restorer, formerly a teacher of the violin-making school in Cremona. At present Mr. Dipper has the most important center for the restoration of musical instruments in the USA, serving the major museums in America, including the Shrine to Music (South Dakota), the Smithsonian Institute (Washington, D.C.) and the Metropolitan Museum (New York). Mr. Dipper has been able to identify nearly all of the bows and several of the instruments in the collection. The resulting classification of the bows can be seen here: Classification and Dating of the BowsSergio Gistri
Luthier from Genova, who has measured and copied a number of the instruments of the collectionTim Ingles
At present the foremost expert on fine old violins of the renowned auction house, Sotheby's in London. Mr. Ingles has helped Orpheon in the acquisition of some of the fine old viols at the London Auctions. He is well acquainted with our collection, particularly since a very substantial number of the choicest instruments were purchase at Sotheby's! He is at present preparing a major publication, which will appear in the Fall of 2005:
'Four Centuries of Violin Making: Fine Instruments from the Sotheby's Archive'.
It will emcompass around 70 makers represented by 220 instruments.Nupi Jenner
Principal atelier in Vienna, Austria. Teacher and resotrer at the School of Instrument Building in Hallstatt, Austria. Organises a yearly international congress for builders and workshops for learning to build musical instruments in Austria and in Brasil.Dr. Peter Klein
Hamburg University Institute for Wood Biology. Together with Dr.Micha Beuting (see above), Dr. Klein has conducted a series of dendrochronological investigations with the purpose of determining precisely the ages of instruments in the collection. The first results, which are quite astonishing, can be seen here:More about dendrochronology (scientifically determining the age of an instrument)
Dendrochronology explainedZoltan Kodaj
Master luthier, originally from Hungary, but established in Vienna. Mr. Kodaj has since 1982 been very influential both in the identification and in the restorarions of a large number of the historical instruments of the collection.John Koster
Curator of the Shrine to Music Museum in South Dakota. During his employment at the Boston Museum, Mr. Koster created one of the finest catalogs on musical instruments available today.Andre Larson
Director of the Shrine to Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota, one of the most important museums of its kind.Catharina Meints
Without a doubt one of the most prominent exponents of the viola da gamba today, professor at the Oberlin Conservatory, cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra. Both Catharina Meints and her husband, James Caldwell, of the Oberlin Conservatory, have played and performed on the viols of the Vazquez Collection.Carlos Moreno
Master luthier in Madrid, Spain, Mr. Moreno has copied and is in the process of reproducing all of the viols of the Vazquez Collection.Dr. Hans Nieuwdorp
Director of the Art Musuem in AntwerpJoseph Peknik III
Musical instrument department of the Metropolitan Museum, New York. Mr. Peknik has participated in some of the exhibitions of the Vazquez Collection as advisor and as lecturer. Among other things, he successfully identified one of the violones of the collection.Marcel Richters
Luthier and director of the Vienna offices of Machold Violins.Johann Rombach
Luthier from Vienna, he has helped identify some of the Austrian instruments of the collection.Dr. Julie Anne and Stanley Sadie
Internationally renowned musicologists, both are members of the Orpheon Foundation.Dr. Alexander Silbiger
Dr. Silbiger, a musicologist from Cornell University, visited the collection during the Summer Academy at Jindrichuv Hradec, July, 2003.Dr. Kenneth Slowik
Director of performance at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. Mr. Slowik is a conductor, violist da gamba, violoncellist and harpsichordist. He is the author of innummerable recordings of music on historical instruments from the Baroque, Classical and Modern Periods.
Martin Sonnenberg
Luthier established in Cremona, he has restored several of the violin family instruments of the collection.Jan Van den Bossche
Director of the Utrecht Early Music Festival and member of the Orpheon Foundation.
Cai von Stietencron
Luthier from Germany, currently in Vienna, he has identified one of the fine Italian violins in the collection.Petr Vavrous
Viola da gamba maker in Praha, Czech Republic, Mr. Vavrous has undertaken the restoration of a large number of the viols of the collection and built a number of copies for the collection.Andrew Watson
For many years the leading expert on fine violins at Sotheby's Auction House, London. During his frequent visits to the collection in Vienna, Mr. Watson offered his opinions on the origin of a number of our instruments.Simone Zopf
Ms. Zopf at present teaches at the instrument making school of Hallstadt, Austria. She has been entrusted with the task of producing plans for the instruments of the collection. The plans to the Michael Albanus viola da gamba from 1706, the William Turner treble viol of 1647 and the Edward Lewis bass viola da gamba of 1687 are already available. Please, see also: