Barbiero was a conservatory trained violist, but was always interested in woodworking, even from an early age. He started bow making on his own but then trained with Christian Barthe, Alfredo Clementi and J.F. Refin. He opened his own shop in 1997 and his work has become popular with a number of important soloists.
After the normal training in Germany, Otto Hoyer moved to Paris to work with the great Eugene Sartory. When he returned to Markneukirchen he set up his own shop. His best bows were stamped: O.A.HOYER PARISER often with the date.
The workshops of W.E.Hill & Sons produced exceptional bows for many decades. The bows stamped HILL, H&S or W.E.H&S were considered their “Budget” bows which sold at a lower price. In reality the only real difference between these bows and those with the “full stamp” W.E.HILL & SONS were the frog and button which had simpler mountings. But the quality of the sticks were usually the same on all of the Hill bows.
Prell's bona fides include working for the great German masters Albert Nurnberger (1893-1895), and with August Rau (1896), before working with the venerable Eugene Sartory (1897-1898). He established his own shop in his native Markneukirchen in 1898. Prell died in 1925 at the age of 50.
One of the most important and respected of early 20th century German bow makers, Paul Schubert (1884-1961) was highly respected for his fine and elegant craftsmanship and the exceptionally high quality of materials he used. He trained with his father August, W.A.Pfretzschner and with August Nürnberger Suess before he left for America. He set up his own workshop in 1913.
François Lotte trained in the Bazin workshop and then worked for Cuniot-Hury before going on his own in 1926. His workshop included R.Bernard, M.Lapierre, M.Mangenot along with his son Roger.
The Cuniot-Hury workshop was originally founded by Eugène Cuniot in the 1880’s who trained with his father Pierre. The workshop employed about ten master bowmakers and produced very high quality work. Eugène’s assistant was Emile François Ouchard who took over the workshop in 1910. His son Emile Auguste worked there until 1922. The nickel button is a later replacement making this bow an excellent value.
Born in Munich, Florian studied viola performance and played in orchestras in the Netherlands. He studied bow making in the UK with several master makers. He has since moved to Boston where he continues to work with several important makers.
Originally from Perryville Missouri, Frank Callier moved to St Louis at age 17 where he began studying violin making. After working in San Antonio, TX, he settled in Hollywood in 1928 where he set up his own violin and bow making shop. He was by far the most important bow maker in Los Angeles and won a number of medals and awards for his fine bows.
The Nürnberger dynasty of bow makers is perhaps the most important in the history of German bow makers. This beautiful and elegant bow dates from around 1910 under the direction of Franz Albert (II) considered one of the finest of all German makers.
New York. Beginning on his own in 1978, Aniano continued studying bowmaking with William Salchow in the early 1980s. Since 2002 he has worked with the renowned Yung Chin, whom Aniano considers his principal teacher and mentor. He won prizes at the VSA, including gold medal for a cello bow in 2006 and a viola bow in 2010.
Garner Wilson started his career as a bow maker with W.E.Hill & Sons form 1960 – 1966. He then set up his own workshop in London, later moving to Bury St. Edmonds in Suffolk. A number of bow makers were trained in his workshop.
The Hoyers were one of the dominant families of 27 violin and bow makers mostly in Saxony. Beginning with Andreas (1703-1780) and continuing on until the mid 20th century. Otto Hoyer was one of the most important bow makers of the family. After training in Markneukirchen, he took the unusual step of moving to Paris where he worked for several years with Eugene Sartory. Returning to Markneukirchen, he opened his own workshop producing outstanding bows of excellent quality, which show the influence of the great Parisian bow makers.
In addition to fine instruments, the famous Ernst Heinrich Roth workshops have produced excellent quality bows. This is an especially nice example of their work.
Roger Treat studied the art of bow making with Lynn Hannings, Jerry Pascewicz and Rodney Mohr before opening his own workshop over twenty-five years ago. Over the years he has become a highly respected maker, not just in New England but all over the country.
Highly respected for his work,Randy Steenburgen has won several gold medals at Violin Society of America (VSA) competitions, perhaps the most important in the world. This is a beautifully made bow, typical of his high level of craftsmanship.
Born in 1930, Richard Grünke trained with a number of important bow makers before setting up his own workshop in 1975. The tradition continues with Richard’s son Klaus.
Heinz Dölling worked with his father Otto and established his own workshop in 1938. He was highly respected for his elegant workmanship. Even though the GDR was not favorable towards individual craftsmen developing their own personal style, he was able to establish an international reputation through major trade fairs. This excellent example has a beautiful horn frog.
The Dörfler family of bow makers spans four generations and has become one of the most important in Germany. This beautiful bow was chosen for us at a trade show from over 100 Dörfler bows by a well known professional violinist and has superb playing qualities.
A beautiful French bow made for Emile Boulangeot’s firm in Lyon.