Benedict Lang, Mittenwald – cello dated 1979 (Rudolf Lang)

This cello from the renowned workshop of Benedikt Lang is a characteristic Mittenwald piece created a few years after Lang’s death by his son Rudolf.

Here the classic style of this famous violin-making region manifests with a unique violoncello individuality which will satisfy sophisticated standards because of its mature and excellently well-rounded sound. Within the nearly 150-year history of the Lang family of violin makers, this cello serves as a confirmation that Benedikt Lang had properly established himself in Mittenwald. Benedikt Lang settled there in 1946 along with many other displaced luthiers from the Bohemian town of Schönbach. His son and successor Rudolf Lang demonstrated his art here as a skilled master of the Mittenwald style – unmistakably articulated in the orange-red varnish against a yellow base and the exquisitely executed purfling. By crafting this cello, he also created a link to a family tradition which clearly focussed on basses and cellos, which were a major pillar of the Benedikt Lang's business ever since the days of his great-grandfather, Josef Lang. This two-tiered testament to tradition in no way kept Rudolf Lang from setting his own virtuoso accent of distinctive aesthetics by working around a small resin pocket in the middle of the gloriously flamed maple chosen for the two-piece back; the harmoniously fine-grained spruce used for the top is a superb complement. After having carefully set up this Mittenwald cello and made it ready to play, we are pleased to offer it along with our trade-in guarantee; it is in perfect undamaged condition and has a few expressive traces of use from previous owners who were good musicians. A pleasantly gentle note in its mature, powerfully strong and wonderfully balanced voice permits musicians to draw out nuanced timbre in their interpretations of demanding literature in a fashion that only few cellos in this price category can achieve.