“Making a Violin is a Statement" The Initiation of Thomas Meuwissen’s Open Violin Studio at The Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels. In Belgium, the month of May has been all about the Queen Elisabeth Competition for violin. Guadagnini’s and Stradivarius’ names were to be heard all-over. This should not come as a surprise, bearing in mind the significance of these grand masters. Yet, one might wonder, what about modern violin making? Thomas Meuwissen’s new open violin making studio located at the Musical Instruments Museum (mim) in Brussels provides an answer to that question. This Belgian artisan proves that the art of violinmaking is very much alive. Brussels has already hosted a pop-up restaurant and now it welcomes a glass pop-up workshop. Born in 1966, master violin maker Thomas Meuwissen will take up residence on the museum’s 7th floor for the next two years. However, he will not have much time to admire the magnificent view across Europe's capital city. Earlier this year, he was commissioned by The Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel to construct an entire string quartet. The quartet, which consists of two violins, one viola and one cello, is to be ready in 2017, when the Queen Elisabeth Competition of that year will be the first of its kind for cellos. In 2011 the Music Chapel opened a new department for cello. This created a need for new instruments. Recommended by master in residence Gary Hoffman, Meuwissen was to receive his first request to build a cello. The assignment turned out to be a great success and encouraged The Chapel to commission Meuwissen further in the making of a string quartet. This is such a unique project, that the violin maker was inspired to look for a setting to match it. This is where Jo Santy, the mim’s PR officer, comes in. Together with his colleague Saskia Willaert, Santy helped bring the idea to life in a matter of months.
In the Family During his speech at the studio’s opening, Executive President of the Music Chapel, Count Bernard de Launoit, stressed how important it is to support Belgian craftsmen. A Meuwissen cello was played by a student of The Chapel, Polish cellist Kacper Nowak, whose rendition of Bach and Hindemith’s music added lustre to this ceremonious moment. 7-yeard-old Andreas, Meuwissen’s youngest son, had the honour of cutting the ribbon. Not golden as one might expect, this ribbon was in fact a red and white cordon. Yet another family member was present that evening. “The portrait at the studio’s entrance depicts my great grandfather. One of the most famous naval architects of his time, he designed the Mauretania, the biggest and fastest ship of its generation. What I do now is, essentially speaking, very similar to his work back in the day: he optimised an age-old structure in order to improve its efficiency. I translate this
to my mode of operation with violins. It runs in the family, so to speak. Hence the portrait of my grandfather.”, expounds Meuwissen when we meet the day after his studio’s opening. It is not only musicians who have the opportunity to exhibit their talents at a competition such as the Queen Elisabeth one. There is also an international circuit of contests dedicated to bowed string instruments only. Initially, Meuwissen had his doubts about such events. “But today I mainly see its perks. Ultimately, it brings together people of the same mind and passion. Also, it offers the opportunity to make informal contacts. Consequently, participating is more important than winning.” Meuwissen regards his first award, a bronze medal for viola at the Concours Etienne Vatelot in Paris (1999), as most significant. “It was an enormous incentive. The other laureates had been fellow students, which made it all the more special. This unexpected success was a strengthening factor to us all. It encouraged me to participate in other competitions and it helped improve my instrument-making. Currently, my assistants and I are working on a cello for an important contest in Cremona, which takes place in October this year. There is still some work to be done.” (laughs)
New Flemish Primitive After a preparatory training in visual arts – “In that period I met a guitar maker who introduced me to the art of violin making” – followed by studies in musical instrument construction – “There the metier’s passion hit me” – Meuwissen, in his early twenties, left for the Newark School of Violin Making, one of the most renowned institutes within Europe. “Not a simple choice, of which I was not aware at that time. It simply triggered my imagination, both the school and the violin. I sensed a multi-disciplined realm behind it which fascinated me. Already then I had the greatest esteem for handicrafts. Becoming an artist was, in my view, too abstract or hard for me at that particular time. That is why applied arts made me feel more at ease.” While in England, Meuwissen was initiated into the secrets of violin-making over a period of three years. “A violin-making training can easily take up to 10 years before one can run independently. Thanks to Přemysl Špidlen (1920–2010) – mon Stradivarius à moi – I was able to do an internship in Prague. Next, Frédéric Chaudière (°1963) took me under his wing in Montpellier. Where ever I could I tried to pick out the best elements as a way to implement them into my own instruments.” We move to the bench. Carving spruce and maple wood with gouges and chisels, scraping the top and the back plates respectively, bending the side walls (ribs) and cutting the f-holes with a knife, finishing the curl, tuning the sound boards and placing the stack with the pointe aux âmes: is it hard for you to imagine what it all looks like? Then you should definitely pay a visit to the open workshop. Meuwissen’s enthusiastic demonstration will make things clear. “The building of a violin in itself has not altered since the time of Stradivarius. I aspirate to emulate such work, to grasp the aesthetic and acoustic concepts. The choice of the material is therefore, of course, very important. A stringed instrument is a typical example of form follows function: everything has a function.” Once the sound board has been processed in its proper form, it still looks quite pale. To ensure that the varnish does not penetrate into the wood, foundations are applied. “Then the varnish is composed like an old master
painting, using the same techniques as those used by the Flemish Primitives. So I’m actually a new Flemish Primitive.” On a violin eight to ten coats of varnish are applied in that fashion. The sole thing that Meuwissen does not produce himself, are the strings. These he picks out conscientiously in a shop in the center of Brussels.
“I’m Working on it” Meuwissen primarily presents himself as a violin maker. This créateur rarely puts himself to restoration work and, when he does, it is out of mere interest and because he considers it as fertile ground for his own work. To this very day, Meuwissen is still learning. For several days every few months he gets to work with Jean-Jacques Fasnacht, an authority in the field of violin restoration. "In my field of work it becomes more and more common to specialize. If you want to be really good at something, that is what you are required to do. Violin makers who excel in building and restoring as well as in the making of instruments, are few in number. Bow making is also an entirely different profession. We no longer live in a time where you can offer the whole range.” In his daily work Meuwissen is assisted by two aids who prepare the work. "With their help, I can focus on the important matters like the decision and design of the model, the choice of wood, the size and so on. In each stage, I always place the final touches.” After twenty eight years in the profession, it is safe to say that Meuwissen ranks among the top. His membership of the prestigious Entente Internationale des Maîtres Luthiers et Archetiers d’Art, a kind of guild founded by a handful of experts and traders after World War II, exemplifies this tremendous achievement. The number of so-called new builders who are members of this post-war association is limited. "A colleague who was already a member encouraged me to introduce myself to the Entente. Once introduced you are to submit a file. Then your request will either be unanimously approved or not at all. Again, the admission was an enormous recognition for my work." This explains Meuwissen’s popularity among several major soloists today. Two such well-known musicians are violinists Vadim Repin, winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 1989, and Igor Oistrakh, son of the world famous David Oistrakh (1908–1974). In addition, the German pedagogue Marie Kliegel, is also a great admirer of his work. With a distinct purpose, Meuwissen remains a modest man. "During my first radio interview, I was asked whether I was the new Stradivarius. My answer is still the same: I'm working on it." (laughs)
Renaissance Just like the Cremonese Amati family before them, Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737), Guiseppe Guarneri (1698–1744) and Giovanni Guadagnini (1711–1786) are probably the most well-known Italian violin makers who have attained worldwide fame, which boosted the profession to unprecedented heights. Many are convinced that it is impossible to match the quality of string instruments from the 17th and 18th century, let alone surpass it. According to Thomas, however, violin making is about to embark on a new golden age, a statement confirmed by specialist literature as well as musicians themselves. “Today we speak of a new Renaissance, comparable to the metier’s Golden Age. A growing number of top musicians rely on modern instruments. Among them Christian Tetzlaff, who consciously plays a contemporary instrument (made by German
violin maker Stefan-Peter Greiner, ed.). The increasing demand for quality does not only come forth from the musician, but from the audience also. Nowadays, the people are accustomed to a better sound. On top of all this, many old instruments are often no longer in use. They end up in museums and private collections and are taken out of circulation because of their historical and financial value. Now, interestingly, there is a trend towards solid investment in modern instruments. Previously, such a phenomenon was unfathomable. “Once finished, the Music Chapel does not intend to make the quartet disappear into a private collection nor put it somewhere behind glass. Quite the contrary. The foundation’s exact intentions are, as yet, undisclosed. Suffice to say that each instrument will be placed in very good and deserving hands to be played either as a solo instrument or together in a group. "It is my goal to present them as a homogeneous acoustic group and aesthetic ensemble as each instrument is a unique polychrome and sonorous work of art", says Thomas with conviction. "To me, creating a violin is a statement. Although perhaps for connoisseurs’ ears only, you can add many layers of expression to it. It is like the development of a formal language, where the various techniques are solely a means." Meuwissen’s studio is freely accessible to the public during the mim’s opening hours. The museum, which preserves and manages one of the richest collections of musical instruments in the world, is worth visiting anyway. And now even more so. [LINK: Thomas Meuwissen – http://www.meuwissen-violins.be/] Tim De Backer, 25/06/2015 Translation: Loes Uytterschout