Rainer W. Leonhardt

Our Sound: Complex, Deeply Satisfying, Tonally Rich uilding a master violin is an accumula- t i on o f many sma l l s t eps , each car r i ed out with painstaking care. Acous t i ca l l y, t he v i o l i n i s one o f t he mos t comp l ex o f mus i ca l i ns t r u- ments. Its responsiveness and reli- ab i l i t y depend on t he p r ec i se obser vance of the physical relation- ships between its components. Sens i b i l i t y i n wood c ra f t i ng and t he experience of years go into the creation of commendable violins „in the white“. The com- p l e t i on o f an i ns t r umen t up t o t h i s po i n t a l one takes close to 120 working hours. I n t he ensu i ng hand-va r n i sh i ng p rocess , ca r r i ed ou t i n t he f ami l y t rad i t i on , we use t he bes t na t u ra l gums , r es i ns and dyes — among t hese she l l ac , p ropo l i s , mas t i c , copa l , benzo i n , d ragon ' s b l ood , f rank i ncense , madde r roo t and a l oe — dissolved in oil or spirits in accord with family recipes. Varnishing a master violin enhances its most sovereign qualities B