I am the bowmaker to many of the world’s greatest musicians. My clients include Anne-Sophie Mutter, Slava Rostropovitch, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, members of the Julliard String Quartet, the Guarneri String Quartet and others.
My bows are the result of years of appreciative study of the work of the great masters in bow making, expressed in terms of old world craftsmanship
but with modern day analysis and tempered by the critiques of the many fine musicians that I am fortunate to work with. My goal is to create new bows of great artistry and functionality in the tradition of my predecessors.
All parts of my bows are entirely handmade by me for precision and artistry. The Pernambuco that I use has been aged for decades. I cut the billets into boards and the boards into sticks to give me that maximum control over layout of the grain and to give me a ‘feel’ for the structure of stick even before I start. My ebony comes in the form of hand hewed logs from the island of Madagascar. It is the world’s finest quality of ebony which sadly is no longer available. From these logs I cut frog blocks that I age for several years before I use them. Aging insures that the wood is stable and the parts will fit for decades to come. The gold and silver mountings are hand fabricated from sheet metal. I use a rolling mill to set proper thicknesses and hand draw my gold wires to custom gauges. Ferrules are kiln hardened for maximum strength. My screws are die cut from tempered tool steel. And of course the hair and leathers that I use are the finest available and carefully chosen to best match the characteristics of my bows.
If ever there were a product that is completely handmade, it is mine. I am a fanatic for detailed craftsmanship and a stickler for design. I don’t rely on stylistic eccentricities to distinguish my work. I believe that the ability to conceptualize the classic geometry of the bow is the secret to my success. This is what sets my bows apart from the others and makes them perform so well.
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