Rainer W. Leonhardt

Company Founder Anton Dietl RainerW. Leonhardt, ViolinMaker InTheThirdGeneration y f ami l y t rad i t i on t augh t me t he bas i cs of the trade, of course. I com- pl eted my official education at t he Ge rman Na t i ona l Trade School for Violin Makers in Mit- tenwald. A f t e r qua l i f y i ng as a j ou r ney- man i n 1983 , I spen t seven yea r s i n t he shops o f mas t e r luthiers, refining my knowledge o f t he bu i l d i ng , se r v i c i ng , r e- pai ri ng , res tori ng , and mod i f i - cation of bows and violins. I n 1990 I was ce r t i f i ed as a Ge rman Mas t e r Cra f t sman by t he Chambe r o f Sk i l l ed Cra f t s f o r Mun i ch and Upper Bavaria. My subsequen t yea r s i n t he Leonhardt Workshop have been marked by my increased sensi- b i l i t y t o t he needs o f per form- i ng mus i c i ans , wi t h many o f whom I have come t o wo r k cl ose l y. These „ pa r t ne r sh i ps “ with musicians and the knowl- edge I have ga i ned du r i ng my yea r s o f s t udy and app r en t i cesh i p have had a profound effect on our instruments. M _ 4 _