Violin by Johann Evangelist Bader, Mittenwald, 1948

This violin from Mittenwald is a mature masterpiece, an instrument that is both aesthetically and musically exquisite; it was created by the highly esteemed luthier Johann Evangelist Bader in 1948 and illustrates his outstanding training and nearly fifty years of experience as an independent master. Johann Evangelist Bader ranks amongst the graduates of the violin-making school in Mittenwald who honed their craft after long years of wandering and service with leading contemporary masters after which they returned to their hometowns in Bavaria and became influential teachers themselves. His journeys led him to the workshops of Johann Padewet in Karlsruhe, Karl Adam Hörlein in Würzburg and Otto Migge in Koblenz before ultimately bringing him to the great Giuseppe Fiorini in Munich – and from there back to Mittenwald in 1901, where he founded his own successful workshop, and as a teacher at the violin-making school, he shared his knowledge with the rising generation of excellent luthiers. This instrument is an inimitable interpretation of the typical Mittenwald Stradivari model, yet it also represents Johann Evangelist Bader’s expressive personal style in many finely-crafted details: the one-piece back taken from a slab of maple and the moderately-grained spruce of the top mirror the wealth of experience and the refined aesthetic sensibilities of the master who chose these woods with a confident hand and rendered them elegantly, crowning them with a rich golden-yellow oil varnish for which Bader created his own formula. The carving of the scroll and the purfling drawn deep into the beesting corners both show the extreme care with which he worked, and they round out the harmonious overall appearance of this violin. It is in very good condition, notwithstanding a few minor traces of use and a small well-executed repair to the centre joint under the tailpiece; the price has been adjusted to reflect these factors, but they have no effect whatsoever on the violin’s musical characteristics. We have made this violin ready to play and given it a full set of new rosewood fittings, including the fingerboard. Powerful and large, the warm and enigmatically dark and beautifully well-rounded voice of this sophisticated Mittenwald violin will delight the highest musical standards, and its rich volume opens up extremely interesting potential interpretations.

 

 

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