Josef Bitterer Mittenwald violin

The symbol that marked an arrival: This Josef Bitterer instrument from around 1950 was made in unmistakable Mittenwald style, a tribute to the new artistic home of the master who had been displaced from the Bohemian town of Schönbach in 1946.

When Josef Bitterer crafted this instrument in 1950, only four years had passed since the Bitterer family of luthiers re-settled in the Bavarian town of Mittenwald, and with this piece, he documented how well he had mastered and could confidently apply the artisanal traditions of his new home. Trained at his father’s workshop and at the famous violin-making school in Schönbach (now in Czechia), Josef Bitterer had already completed his luthier’s master examination twenty years before this instrument was made, and the collective experience of his career to date is evident in this well-crafted instrument in which all of the details were handled with the greatest of care. The finely grained spruce chosen for the top and the tight flames of the two-piece maple back are coated by a radiant orange-brown spirit varnish with a transparency that lets these outstanding tone woods appear in their finest light. Bitterer followed Italian templates in carving the scroll, thus giving this typically Mittenwald violin an interesting personal note. A repair to the left sound hole was professionally performed, and the violin is in otherwise undamaged and excellent condition and has been been made ready to play. With a powerful and open sound worthy of its attractive appearance, it is a compelling choice which blends a bright character with great resonance and maturity in deeper registers.