Gorgeous Mittenwald Violin – Ornate Maggini Copy circa 1970 – SOLD OCTOBER 13, 2023 –

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If you are traveling in Germany and want to see a town loaded with history of string instruments and the craft of fine instrument making Mittenwald is a must stop on your bucket list. A visit to Mittenwald is like stepping back in time. The town is a Bavarian postcard, and this postcard town has been the center of fine violin making for over 350 years. In the 18th century Mathias Klotz (1656-1743), the key figure in why violin making came to Mittenwald, settled there to build strings instruments and raise his sons as luthiers. His second son, Sebastian Klotz (1696-1775) became a highly skilled maker and taught his own sons the craft who continued the family tradition into the beginning of the 19th century. Economic history also gives a plausible reason why violin making thrived. The Bavarian outpost means “mitten im Wald” in the midst of the forest. The altitudes of the Karwendel mountains yield excellent tonewood and the town is located along trade routes that provided international sales.

Today Mittenwald is still home to many professional violin makers as well as students at the renowned Geigenbauschule School. We are offering a violin made in the early 1970’s in Mittenwald. The modeling of this Maggini style violin is streamlined. The choice of woods is over the top nice. The spruce top is even straight grain. The back and ribs are maple which carries with it fine flamed gorgeous curl from the two piece back, into the ribs throughout the neck and scroll. The scroll is carved with one turn like an original Maggini violin. The inlaid purfling all done by excellent knife work is double purfled with very ornate work on the back plate which is superb. The varnish is a golden amber brown color with a touch of orange/brown and is good condition showing a little playing wear on the top plate treble side. We have meticulously gone over the entire violin and given it a new set up. The violin in very good condition and has no issues.

• Corpus 360.0 mm
• Major Width 206.5 mm
• Minor Width 166.0 mm
• Rib Height 30.0 mm

The violin has a sweet upper range and a deep, mature lower voice, especially on the G string. The sound is rich, inviting, full of clarity and focused power. The tone is smooth, with a slight edginess which I love in an instrument. A player will notice that the sound is very even across all four strings. The neat thing about the instrument is that it does not give the impression of a newer sounding violin. The bass side leans to the darker side of sound with plenty of volume and a generous amount of maturity. The E and A strings produce power and clarity even up into higher positions. The overtones and responsiveness of the violin is beautiful, a must try for an instrument at this price point.