Hagen Schiffler-Lustig
Master Violin Maker and Bow Maker
Curiosity meets enthusiasm, musicality and a well-grounded practical training
The seeds of my passion for historical bow making were planted during my violin making education at the School of Violin Making in Newark-on-Trent (Newark and Sherwood College) in the mid-1990s.
In 1998, under the guidance of my colleague Hans Salger in my hometown Bremen, I finally made my first bow, with which I still play today.
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During my time as a journeyman violin maker at the Musikverein in Vienna, I continued to make bows on my own initiative, driven by an insatiable curiosity and excitement for the play of shapes and colors of the different woods and models.
Soon, my fiercest critics became my best customers, and thus I refined my skills in all different areas. When making bows for “historically informed performance” or “early music”, a great deal of flexibility is required. Just as the approach to historical playing can vary greatly depending on the artist, so too are greatly varied demands placed on the bow, the “tool” of the performer.
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In 2002, I opened my own workshop in beautiful Laufen on the Salzach River, very close to Salzburg and surrounded by an inspiring environment of artists, musicians and craftspeople.
To this day, the foundation that my education and training provided me undergirds my work and continues to fascinate me; I draw wisdom from it on a daily basis. My ten years of regular violin instruction from 1977 to 1987 are extremely helpful when testing and calibrating the function my bows. Advanced music studies in secondary school as well as what are now decades of orchestral experience have been supplemented with extensive training in early music, including viola da gamba lessons and a great love of playing consorts. In the end, it’s important to me to be able to try my bows on their appropriate instruments myself, in order to get the “feeling” right. I have to know myself what really matters.
Of course, after more than two decades, I have developed my own individual style with regard to the craftsmanship as well as the functionality and feeling of my bows. Nonetheless, each new project with a client is always an exciting journey for me.
As ever, it is a joy to place my creations in the hands of my customers, with the hope of bringing them happiness and many new musical possibilities.
