In November I finished a violin for Ramsey Husser (2nd Assistant Concertmaster) of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. It was modelled after my usual Guarneri model,  the ‘Lord Wilton/Menuhin’  Guarneri violin of 1742.  As I have become accustomed to this model, I’ve incorporated elements from other Guarneri violins, including the ‘Duskin/Zukerman’ Guarneri violin of the same year.

The ‘Dushkin’ Guarneri violin is a more robust violin than the ‘Menuhin’  and it opens up possibilities when I combine elements of design from more than one violin. While I enjoy copying certain Cremonese violins as exactly as I can, it can quickly limit the possibilities to explore different playing characteristics.

For Mr. Husser’s violin I made the edges of the front and back a little stronger and brought the f’holes closer together, among other small adjustments. Though I did keep the arching very close to the original ‘Lord Wilton/Menuhin’  Guarneri violin.  Overall for this violin I was looking for a slightly less dark sound and with more focus.

Above are photos of Ramsey Husser’s violin.  I quickly took these photos at my bench, just before Mr. Husser arrived to collect his new violin!