Viola from the Testore School, 40.8cm | 16"

The purfling on the back is only scratched in; the hollow moulding on the scroll has only been partly carved out. Some toolmarks are left visible in the archings - a typical somewhat-lazy Testore. This viola is nevertheless extremely well-balanced in terms of sound. It has a strong tone, yet is likewise capable of creating delicate melodic outlines and flautando passages in pianissimo.

We are so fascinated by this viola’s sound qualities that we keep on making this model; and with great success.

The viola pictured here was built as a joint project by Andreas with fellow makers Felix Krafft (Berlin), Bärbel Bellinghausen (Vienna), and Andreas Hudelmayer (London) in the course of an intense working week.

Although it seems unusual for an instrument to have four parents, the challenge of having to exchange views and reach mutual agreements on every step in the making process turned out to be an unbelievably enriching experience for us – and the instrument sounds so good so that it was sold immediately after it was varnished and set up.