4 Promising French Violin Makers And Their Instruments

Baptiste Juguera is a French luthier based in Montpellier, making violins, violas and cellos. His designs draw on the great Italian masters who set the standards of the craft, and his working method is deliberately traditional.

All of his work is done with sharp hand tools: planes, gouges, and knives and flat gouges he makes himself so they sit correctly in his hands. He prepares his own varnishes from oil and different resins in order to control colour, transparency, flexibility and hardness. He buys wood personally in Italy. Alongside Guarneri models he designs instruments of his own, translating what he has learned from studying old instruments into something new. He trained with several distinguished makers, among them Frederic Chaudiere, and has worked in his own workshop since 2012.

His instruments are on display and in use in Montpellier, Paris, Washington DC, Seattle, New York, London, South Korea and Japan.

Baptiste is consistently one of France's top young talents and we have never been anything but impressed. We sold his cellos for several years before taking a violin, and by the third cello it was clear he is growing into one of the most exciting cello makers of his generation, with a rich and complex voice, real depth and projection, and a responsiveness that makes the instrument a pleasure to play. The violins are finely crafted and balanced, with a warm sound, a G string of exceptional resonance, a stunning D, and a register that grows more soloistic the higher you go. At this price point they are hard to beat.

Benjamin Molinaro is a French luthier based in Montreuil, France. After receiving training in Newark and gaining work experience in the United Kingdom and France, Molinaro spent a number of years working in Bernard Sabatier's workshop on Rue de Rome in Paris. During this period, Molinaro developed a novel approach to the craft of violin making, which led him to devote his career to the art full-time.

Benjamin draws inspiration from the exceptional works of the renowned Italian craftsmen, but he prides himself on defining his own unique style and designing his own models. Since 2019, he has operated his own workshop in Montreuil, a suburb of Paris, where he specializes in crafting violins, violas, and cellos.

One of Molinaro's recent works, a cello, was selected as a semi-finalist in the inaugural International Cello Competition held in Paris.

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Benoit Bonten is a French luthier working from his own workshop in Aveyron, in the south of France. He specialises in violas and cellos.

His route into making began in Buenos Aires in 2001, where he spent most of his time in the workshop of Omar Nigrelli, studying restoration first and then making. In 2008 he became assistant to Gonzalo Bayolo in Santiago de Compostela before setting up on his own. His violas are built at body lengths that suit players of different sizes, and every instrument leaves the workshop with his own certificate.

His violas are played by soloists and chamber musicians in France and the United Kingdom.

Benoit makes some of the best small violas we have ever encountered. They are extremely comfortable to play, which matters more on a viola than on anything else, and they sound fantastic without the usual trade-off. The projection is remarkable for the body size, and the tone holds up whether the instrument is being used in a quartet or as a solo voice. At his price point they are a must-try, and he remains one of our favourite French viola makers.