Watch a master violin-maker in action at Brussels workshop

Until early 2017, master violin-maker Thomas Meuwissen is working from his self-designed workshop on the seventh floor of the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels which means that the public will be able to watch him and his assistants as they create a quatuor: two violins, one viola and one cello for the Queen Elizabeth Musical Chapel. The Open Violin Studio is accessible during museum hours and admission is free.

Does design and craft run in the family?
I have some ancestors who inspired me enormously. There are many engineers, architects and that sort of background. My father was a scientist. My great-grandfather used to work in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in England as an engineer and he is one of the designers of the very famous ocean liners the Mauretania and the Lusitania. Like me he embarked on a journey to learn a profession which was at that time not known here in Belgium. He made his career in England and came back. He was a very respected engineer so I've always looked at him as an example.

What are the entrance requirements for the Newark School of Violin-Making in the UK?
First of all I came with a number of bits and pieces I had been working on in Belgium and then the examination test took a few days in which you have to show all the basic woodworking skills. There's a drawing you have to make, there's an interview which I think is the most important as it's people who are very motivated who they are after. I was very fortunate to be able to enrol in that institution. The whole course is three years. In the first year you start to carve the soundbox, the neck and the scroll. Then in the second year you start learning how to repair and restore these instruments, also varnishing. And then in the final year you create a whole string quartet which is then completely finished, varnished and strung up by the end of the year. That's the final exam.

You worked with Premysl Špidlen in Prague and Frédérique Chaudière in Montpellier. What did you learn from them?
The most important thing I learnt from both masters is that violin-making is more than a craft, it's really an art, so you have to put your soul in the instruments and work on the whole concept, acoustically and aesthetically. It was a very intense but very enriching experience I had with both masters. Making copies is a learning process. The aim is to capture the same sound quality. It's a way to understand the working of this very complex acoustical system and to develop your own style. You can compare very easily with the old painters - they went off to Italy, they learnt to paint in the style of their master, eventually to evolve into a personal style. I do exactly the same with making violins.

Let's talk about the wood. The wood most often used is maple?
The main woods used for string instruments are maple, which is a hard wood, and then for the soundboard, the top part with the F holes is made of spruce which is a very light soft wood. It's been used for many centuries for pianos, guitars, lutes so it's an ideal-sounding wood. The parts which are mechanically working like the pegs, the fingerboard and tailpiece are an exotic wood, mainly ebony. For the maple the selection process is very complicated. There must be about 135 different species of maple. Only a few of them will be suitable for violin-making and then even one cannot use the whole tree, it's only a part of the trunk and even the rain side is different from the sunny side so even within the same trunk I have to select the pieces which are suitable for my instruments to give them this particular tone quality. The wood I'm using normally has been stored away for a minimum of 10 years. That's very important for the quality, the acoustical properties, the visual properties.

What about the varnish? You don't use industrial varnish that you buy in a hardware store, you make your own?
I was so lucky that I had an old master varnish-maker who taught me how to make my own. The varnish we use today is a recipe based on old manuscripts and based on the findings of researchers. There is a very important first layer which we call the ground - it enhances the figure of the wood, it makes the wood stronger, it protects it against dirt and humidity and it also prevents the top varnish, which is an oil-based varnish, from penetrating into the instrument because that's very negative for the acoustical qualities. The ingredients are exactly the same as the old master painters. Around 1730 this technique disappeared to make place for another type of varnish which hasn't got the same qualities in the long run when it ages. So that's why we find it so important to go back to these original varnishes. There is no secret in the composition of them. It's mainly amber, which is a fossil resin, which has been fused and cooked into linseed oil or walnut oil. It's a very old combination. The difficulty comes in how to apply the varnish and how to colour it. Even the pigments, the colour of the varnish, I make myself. The whole varnish process can take up to a month. I apply about eight to 10 coats.

The entire process of making a violin takes how long?
I actually never calculated the hours but to give you an average it must take me about three months to finish an instrument, but some instruments can take years. I'm aiming for the highest quality, I take my time - and time is not really one of my main concerns. Many clients have to wait many years before they get their instrument so I hope it's worth waiting for.

Why is violin-making enjoying a resurgence?
There are several reasons but I think the main reason is that classical music is spread all over the world, so there is demand for high-quality instruments. In the course of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century the production was mainly focused on student instruments or good-quality instruments but in an industrial way. The craft of violin-making virtually disappeared and then after the war gradually there came this new interest so violin-makers again were focusing on new instruments and it took several decades to perfect the instruments up to the standard we have today. Today we can compare the acoustical qualitities of the best contemporary violin-makers with the masterpieces of the past so it's a very exciting period to be active as a violin maker. Recent research and a very important experiment has shown that for a professional jury group of about 40 people it is not possible to distinguish the sound of an old Italian master instrument and a good contemporary violin.

You've set up a workshop here, producing two violins, a viola and a cello for the Queen Elizabeth Musical Chapel and they will be using those for their students
They will be on loan for their students and they will be used as a group or separate instruments depending on the needs of the institute. For me this is the most wonderful commission I've ever had. It's very prestigious. Not only the fact that I make four instruments as a group because in general I make one, maybe two instruments, but this is a whole group which is quite unusual - and of course the importance of the institution, the contacts and the following up will be very interesting for me. The reason I've set up this workshop in a place like this is also to celebrate the craft in itself and give the general public an insight into the mysterious craft of violin-making and show them that we are a living craft and we are experiencing a renaissance. The design of the workshop is so that the visibility is at its maximum.

Is there such a thing as a violin that is too old to play?
For the moment even the oldest violin is still playable, but as much as these old instruments are being played they're also being consumed, which means the varnish will wear down, the woodwork will wear down, so some of these instruments are kept in museums, which I can understand very well. If we play them more they will get lost completely. An instrument can be used for many many centuries but but at one point it should be retired, it should be preserved. You really have to be careful with the oldest instruments as they are the only artefacts left for coming generations to study. In theory it will last forever. Acoustically the oldest violin still being played still sounds like a good violin.

What is used nowadays for the strings and bow?
There is a whole variety of material - there are several synthetic combinations available. Every three months there will be a new string on the market. It's modern chemistry. This is the only element which I don't do myself. The musician can choose the strings which reflect his musical idea the most and I can adapt the instrument to his special needs. The bow is made of Pernambuco which is a South American hard wood and the part which is touching the string is horse hair and needs to be replaced every three months. But that's a completely different profession to make and maintain bows. In contemporary violin-making everybody specialises in one domain of the craft because it's very complicated.

Will your son follow in your footsteps?
That's something every violin-maker hopes for, that he can pass on his knowledge and his passion to his kids. I think he's interested. He's very tactile. But if it's not my son I'm sure there will be other collaborators or assistants.

Thomas Meuwissen's workshop can be found on the 7th floor, Musical Instrument Museum, Montagne de la Cour 2, 1000 Brussels. Tuesday-Friday 9.30-17.00, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 10.00-17.00. Free admission, guided tours available.

Photo: Loes Uytterschout