The Everlasting Influence of Stradivarius on the World of Instrument Making

Dario Vettori is an Italian luthier working in Florence, third generation of the Vettori family workshop alongside his father Paolo and his siblings Lapo and Sofia.

He began studying in 2001 at the Associazione Liutaria Italiana Professionisti, and works with the family models and wood stocks accumulated across three generations, alongside spruce from the Val di Fiemme. He works from Stradivari among other models. The Vettori name carries a standard, and his work meets it on its own terms rather than as an inheritance.

His instruments are played by soloists and orchestral musicians internationally.

The 2022 Florence violin was a masterpiece. It looks stunning, but the point is the sound: consistent, powerful and brilliant across every register, rich and clear and balanced, with a robust projection that fills a concert hall. It offers a wide dynamic range and a warm, resonant tone that suits solo and orchestral playing equally. It is a joy to play and to listen to, and a fair testament to what the family name stands for.

Marc Paquin is a Swiss violin maker based in Granada, Spain. He is unusual among contemporary makers in being a performing violinist as well as a luthier, and it shows immediately in the setup and response of his instruments.

Paquin began making in 2000, training in Switzerland with Philippe Girardin and Sylvain Rusticoni, both gold medallists at Cremona and in the United States, and later taking restoration courses with Jean-Jacques Fasnacht. Since 2006 he has pursued his own research into projection, timbre and playability. He works principally from Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu models, returning often to the "Cannone" and the "Ole Bull".

His instruments are played by Sergey Malov, Leticia Moreno, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Tatiana Samouil and Sungsic Yang, and by professional players across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Malov inaugurated one of Marc's violins playing the Schumann Concerto in Granada with the maker in the audience.

Marc is among our most requested makers, and one of the few whose work we order again without hesitation. His Cannone models have enormous power, an open sound and a colour range that players recognise within a few bars. The Ole Bull instruments are darker, with a D string of unusual resonance that holds its own beside the G. Because he plays himself, the setup arrives close to ideal rather than needing months of adjustment. Every Paquin we have offered has found a home quickly.

MyLuthier is the only dealer representing Marc Paquin's instruments since 2022 and have an allocation of new violins every year.

Lucas Fabro is an Argentine luthier working from his own private workshop in Cremona. He makes around eight violins a year, alongside cellos, and everything is made entirely by hand.

He works to traditional Cremonese technique and from Stradivari and Ruggeri models. He takes pride in understanding every technical process that goes into a good violin, and pays particular attention to setup, so the instruments arrive playing well rather than needing months of work. Each one leaves with his certificate.

He knows where most of his instruments are and sees them from time to time, since the musicians who commission them often become friends. His work is played by orchestral, chamber and solo players.

Everything Lucas makes is expertly crafted and, unusually, extremely well set up when it reaches us. His violins play with ease, freedom and sweetness while keeping the power you expect of the Italian school. The response is very quick and they project in any hall, with a rich, dark low end and a powerful top that keeps the precision of old Italian instruments. His cellos are resonant on every string, powerful and balanced, with a bright projecting sound that suits a student, a recent graduate or an established professional equally.

Edgar Russ is a master luthier who has been making in Cremona for decades and has consistently managed to set himself apart. He is one of the most established and innovative makers working in the city.

He has over thirty-five years at the bench, and works from a wide range of classical models, including Stradivari, the 1744 Guarneri del Gesu "Sainton" and a Carlo Antonio Testore of 1740. His workshop has also trained a generation of younger makers, several of whom now work independently.

Russ instruments are played by high-profile musicians around the world, from members of the Vienna Philharmonic to orchestral principals in the United Kingdom, and many of the examples that reach us have already spent years in professional hands.

The instruments we have handled have all shared a particular quality: strong but refined, never simply loud. The Testore model has a sweet, resonant low end that gives way to brilliance and precision at the top. The Sainton is everything you want from a good Guarneri copy, characterful and rich with tremendous projection. The Stradivari models respond immediately and give a focused, powerful sound with quality across all four strings. His older instruments come back to us regularly and have held up, which is its own kind of recommendation.