Fine Mittenwald violin by Johannes Gäßler, 1764 (certificate by Hieronymus Köstler)

In the third generation of Mittenwald violin making, successors of Sebastian Klotz were continuing to write musical history by following the artisanal tradition of the great luthiers of the Klotz family – and these students included Johannes Gässler, whose main oeuvre includes this fine violin with a wonderful sound.

This delicately crafted and wonderful-sounding violin by Johannes Gässler serves as a typical example of classic Mittenwald violin making and gives us an interesting glance at the zenith of the craft in the upper Isar valley, a trade that was shaped by Sebastian Klotz and his brothers Georg Klotz and Johann Carl Klotz – in no small part thanks to excellent students and disciples who took up the mantle of the tradition and created instruments of enduring value that were patterned after their great teachers. As a student of Sebastian Klotz, Johannes Gässler was also within the immediate sphere of influence of this famous dynasty of luthiers. This violin, an expressive piece from the mature phase of this work, shows him to be a very skilled, refined and musically sensitive master. The tone woods he chose for the high table are of excellent quality both acoustically and aesthetically; the finely grained spruce of the top and the tight flames of the one-piece maple back are unmistakably apparent as the fine-quality materials in which the Karwendel region was and remains rich. In its perfect precision, the purfling has beesting corners and demonstrates how Johannes Gässler's confident hand shaped the expressive scroll with finely crafted details. The bushings on the peg box confirm the esteem which earlier generations of musicians showed this remarkable antique violin, which still has Johannes Gässler's charming original label. In the course of thoroughly setting up this instrument, we noted its flawless condition free of cracks and saw that it has all of the features of a voice that has matured beautifully for over 250 years – a luminous elegant voice full of delicate silveriness.