London violin shops raise money for LSF UK In summer 2008 teams from four leading London violin shops – J. & A. Beare, Bridgewood & Neizert, J. P. Guivier, and Florian Leonhard – made four violins in support of the work LSF. Money raised from sale of these instruments will go towards LSF’s projects in countries where there is little professional violin and bow repair and no training for local people. LSF UK sent three professional violin and bow repairers to Haiti in Summer 2008 and is planning to send a team to Uganda in early 2009. So that the good work in these places can continue LSF will need to raise money to send more volunteers. On behalf of LSF, we would like to thank all those who took part in making the instruments. We would also like to thank Andreas Pahler for kindly donating a very fine spruce front and J. & A. Beare for the wood donated for their violin. The Teams: J & A Beare: Mark Robinson, Warren Bailey, Elaine Spicer, Gordon Kerr

Bridgewood & Neitzert: Arthur Fremont, Pierre, Martin Lory

J.P.Guivier: James Hawkins, Christopher Thorp, Eckhard Kropfreiter, Jonathan Larkman

Florian Leonhard: Philip Ihle, Tomoko Murai, Boris Haug, Rodolfo Angilletta

THE EXPERIENCE: Mark Robinson (J & A Beare): "J & A Beare have been involved in several projects (e.g. Buskaid) to help violin and bow repairers in other countries. Making this violin for Luthiers Sans Frontieres has been a great way to support their work in Haiti". Philip Ihle (Florian Leonhard): “When Jon Larkman told me about the project I was captured by the idea. Luckily Florian Leonhard offered me his full support and so I went on to make up a team. Of our shop, Tomoko was fond of participating and we asked two old friends from Cremona violin making school days to complete our team. For Boris and Rodolfo, it was just the right excuse to leave their workshops and families in Germany and Italy and come to London to meet their friends, and do a project to support a charity.” Jon Larkman (J.P. Guivier): “It was a real pleasure to have the opportunity to work on this project with my fellow team mates and I am very grateful to them for all their hard work.” DIARY by Philip Ihle (Florian Leonhard team) During this year we have come across many beautiful instruments in our shop, among them two late violins by Pietro Guarneri of Mantua. I was very impressed by their bold strength and beauty. I had fun studying this maker’s work thoroughly. When we actually met on Friday evening we were stylistically and practically well prepared. On the evening of the first day: • the ribs and at least one side of the linings had to be glued • the top had to be roughly arched and purfled • the back had to be roughly arched and purfled • the scroll had to be roughly carved, including peg box; the fluting of the back could wait the next day but the fingerboard had to be made. We started at nine and after a long working day, at midnight we had fulfilled our schedule! The second day started with pouring rain and with the firm conviction to finish the instrument by the end of the day. This day felt less like a race and the moments of observing and discussing different experiences and interpretations on Pietro Guarneri´s archings and thicknesses became more important. Florian has brought us a fine violin built in Pietro´s father´s workshop, which helped us a lot with the arching, the purfling and the fluting.

That second day, everything went really well. The sometimes annoying jobs to do in a hurry like bass bar and neck set were swift and sound. Two hours before midnight, the neck was shaped and glued. The lower saddle had to be glued, the upper nut to be finished, the top edges had to be rounded, the button had to be shaped and the neck finished, the labels had to be glued in, the sound post to be fitted and the instrument to be strung up. At this stage only one person at the time could work on the instrument and we made one shift of half an hour each. The others went to get some wine and bread and drank, chatted, watched and cheered. The atmosphere had become downhill, just like after the pass on a trans Alp cycle ride. Tomoko rounded the edges (for the whole instrument, we only used cutting tools), Rodolfo shaped the button, Boris re-cut the channel, Florian shaped the upper nut, I glued the label, fitted the sound post and strung up the violin. At five past midnight, some guests, the team and our hosts Florian and Elizabeth were there for the glorious moment when Tomoko played the first tune on this fast, bold modeled violin: My favorite things. The audience were swept off their feet, Champagne displaced wine and the violin went from hand to hand, was properly marveled at and played on by its very satisfied makers. We as a team are very convinced, that the most special feature of this violin comes from the hands and souls of all the five of us. Personal highlights Rodolfo: The Tarantella dancing after the first evening when we came back home at the early morning of the second day. Tomoko: The last two hours of the fiddle-race, when there was only one person working like hell and the others were pleasantly watching, cheering and drinking. Martin: The morning of the second day, rain was pouring in London and we arrived soaking wet at the workshop, we took off our clothes and started to work naked immediately. Arthur: The pain in the finger. Rodolfo: The blisters after roughing the arching. Boris: While usually the violin is valuable because it is made by one distinct maker, in this case the collaboration makes it more valuable. In an honest statement Arthur said, that doubt was the strongest feeling he had. Martin added that he suffered a bit, especially at the end. Philip: For me it was very difficult to see Boris clean the tool marks that I like so much.