Baroque instruments

The starting point for the making of baroque instruments is always a concrete example of the baroque or the early classical Viennese period. This original instrument functions as a prototype for reconstructions, which are carried out with the greatest care. They are not just copies in the photographic sense of the word.

I try to imagine the circumstances (the ideal sound, the historical context, the character of the maker and the methods used at work) which influenced the birth of this instrument. The reconstruction is therefore very much a living process, the result of which not so much imitates but is meant to be a “new example” of the same instrument. The first series of reconstruction began with an old Viennese cello.

Johann Christoph Leidolff, fecit Viennae 1748. This instrument has been completely restored by myself in a process that lasted 4 years and it is currently to be found in the Horvat-Kamiya Violin- Studio. The original style of this well-known Viennese violinmaker is the system used to make the instruments, with very high arching, often worked in the style of Jakob Stainer. These give this instrument its full sound, warm and rich.

It is very likely that this was the ideal classical Viennese sound. We know that to one violin that he particularly loved the sound of, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave the name “butter violin”. This is a label that could be considered appropriate for the sound described above.
In my re-creation, I have tried to remain faithful to the original sound, as much as possible and at the same time to take account of the demands of the modern musician. The original instrument was made 8 years before the birth of W.A. Mozart. In the days of Mozart it was therefore a relatively new instrument.

Besides making original instruments I am always looking for instruments that can be combined with this cello.
They are repaired or rebuilt so that authentic groups can be formed.