German master violin by Kurt Gütter, Markneukirchen 1977 - Guarnerius copy

Kurt Gütter (1894 - 1991) was a versatile Markneukirchen violin maker who trained with Oskar Bernhard Heinel and specialized in making the finest master violins from the 1950s onward, winning numerous awards in this genre at international violin making competitions. The violin after Guarnerius offered here was made one year before Gütter was honored as the first prize winner with the 1st class honorary prize of musical instrument making in the GDR, and it represents the most mature phase of the work of this master, who was productive into old age. Thus, the richly lustrous, orange-brown oil varnish allows the beautiful grain of the narrow-to-medium grained spruce top and the strong, deep flaming of the two-piece maple back to shine in their flawless glory, and the brilliant, warm, and well-supported sound proves these high-quality tonewoods to be an excellent choice acoustically as well. Built as a special order for a collector, this violin has not been played to this day and is in excellent, mint condition, which our luthiers have convinced themselves of during a thorough inspection, during which it was prepared with new strings ready to play.