Our 5 Top-Rated Professional Violins

W. E. Hill & Sons is a London firm established in 1880. For over two and a half centuries the Hill name has stood for craftsmanship and for the highest standards of expertise in the English tradition, and it remains synonymous with English violin making.

The firm makes instruments, bows and accessories entirely in its own Hampstead workshop. New making is directed today by Stefan-Peter Greiner and Robert Brewer Young, continuing where the historic Hill instruments left off. The models are drawn from the finest examples available: golden-period Stradivari including the "Messiah" of 1716, Carlo Bergonzi, and the "Rode" Guarneri del Gesu of 1734.

Hill instruments and bows are played and collected worldwide, and the firm's historic certificates remain among the most recognised documents in the trade.

Both Hill violins we have handled showed the same command of the model with quite different characters. The Bergonzi is bright and distinctive, extremely responsive and precise, and that clarity gives it plenty of projection, particularly in the higher register, with a wide tonal range and the brilliance many players are looking for. The "Rode" Guarneri is charming and balanced, with an E string that sings beautifully and depth and resonance across the whole range, and it is versatile enough to move between settings without complaint.

Frederic Chaudiere is possibly the best-known violin maker in France. His workshop, opened in 1986, is in the Hotel Magnol in Montpellier, where he builds violins, violas and cellos for musicians all over the world.

His work has an immediately recognisable signature: a deep red and honey-brown varnish that lifts the natural grain of the wood rather than hiding it, and backs of strongly flamed maple chosen for acoustic as much as visual reasons. He works most often to Guarneri models. His son Octave is also a maker, and the family influence runs in both directions.

Chaudiere instruments have been played by Ruggiero Ricci and Alexandre Sitkovetsky, among many other established soloists internationally.

Frederic makes instruments of consistently very high quality and the ones we have handled have all shown the same character. The sound is a dark Guarneri sound with real weight on the G string, and the natural fullness of the instrument lets it resonate freely, which gives a player a great deal of flexibility. Against that darkness sits an impressive brilliance and projection on the E string. It is that combination of power and colour range that makes his violins among the most versatile we carry.

Scrollavezza & Zanre is a Parma workshop founded in 2002 by Elisa Scrollavezza and Andrea Zanre, active in the making, restoration and dealing of fine string instruments. The pair are widely recognised as leading experts in the field.

The workshop continues the tradition passed on through the teaching and work of Renato Scrollavezza, which for over half a century has stood for personality, warmth and delicate equilibrium. Alongside the bench they have published extensively on Italian lutherie, and one of their recent violins, inspired by a 1770s Balestrieri, the ex-Adam Han-Gorski, appears in Andrea Zanre's Liuteria Mantovana. They work from Balestrieri and from Andrea's own personal model, in which the pair's expertise and innovation come together.

Their instruments are played by professional musicians internationally, and their scholarship carries weight well beyond the workshop.

We chose our first Scrollavezza & Zanre violin because it was the standout instrument at Cremona Mondomusica, and it scored highly on sound, playability and appearance alike. Their more recent work has that rarer combination of a dark, warm tone that is nonetheless powerful, which suits a player who wants sweetness without giving up projection. It is exquisite craftsmanship married to an authentically Italian sound, and their instruments have never lingered with us.

Sing Him Wong is Head of Making at MyLuthier and works from our north London workshop. Born in Belgium in 1993, he started as a violin and cello player, and it was the pursuit of a particular sound rather than an interest in woodwork that led him to making.

He graduated with merit from ILSA Antwerpen, where he studied under Anton Somers and Erik Buys. He works most often from the Guarneri del Gesu "Lord Wilton" and from the 1710 "Lord Dunraven" Stradivari, a golden-period example currently played by Anne-Sophie Mutter. His copies stay true to the originals in the scroll and f-hole shapes while carrying a personal signature of his own. Alongside new making he handles sound adjustment and restoration for the workshop.

His instruments have been commissioned by players as far away as Taiwan and the Far East as well as the USA, and several have gone out before ever reaching the showroom floor.

Sing Him is our own in-house Head of Making, so we would say this, but he is one of the most talented makers of his generation. The "Lord Wilton" models feel limitless from the moment the bow touches the string: power, depth, resonance and nuance, and crucially very easy to play. The G string resonates strongly enough that you feel the vibration in your hand, the D and A are deep and full with a sweetness to them, and the E projects exactly as it should at this level. The Dunraven violins are rounder and more balanced, with a setup built for comfort. He is the most promising maker we know, and we are fortunate to have him at the bench.