George Gemünder's Progress in Violin Making

But we must be thankful to the great masters; they have laid for us the foundation of the manufacture of violins, by which they became immortalized.

Their system, however, is but little understood by the present violin makers, because very few intelligent people devote themselves to this art, and the most of those who are learning it, practice it not in the way of art, but of business. What wonder, when even the greatest artist in Europe, Vuillaume, imitated the very mistakes which the great Italian masters made in regard to mathematical division. He did not consider that they, in improving the art, made experiments in regard to form, swell and different thicknesses in working out the bottom and top. But there are a great many professional men who, from exaggerated veneration, consider all productions of those masters as law and beyond correction.

I have discovered that the old masters did not arrive at perfection, but made mistakes in their mathematical division and in the workmanship of the different thicknesses of the bottom and top. Those faults I have endeavored to avoid in the manufacture of my violins, and I think I have solved this problem.

Just so it is with the knowledge of tone. It is a great mistake to believe that it is only the player who has this knowledge. Experience has taught that playing and knowledge of tone are two different provinces, because the artist very seldom has an opportunity to make close study of the different qualities of tone, and is usually prepossessed with his own instrument.

If many solo performers had more knowledge of tone they would not so often play in concerts on feeble instruments, which are too old, too defective in construction, or have been spoiled by bungling workmen who were employed to repair them. Such instruments often injure the solo performer exceedingly, and the critic is right in charging the fault to feebleness of tone. But the artist is generally satisfied if he only possesses an Italian violin.

Also in the science of tone I have found the way to gain that experience by which I have been enabled to make a violin which will satisfy an unprejudiced solo performer of the present and future.

I have confined myself to the natural process which the Italian violins underwent, and I have put the problem to myself that it must lie within the bounds of possibility to construct violins which will bring forth good tones at once and not depend on a promising future for all their good qualities, and I have not been mistaken, but have secured what I sought.

Many are still of opinion that the art of making violins and predetermining the qualities of tone, is a mere accident. This is, if taken in a general sense, true, because most of those who make violins scarcely know any more of it than a joiner, but the ability to construct violins according to the rules of art, requires a man who has enjoyed a technical education, and whoever has acquired the necessary capabilities knows the method by which the different qualities of tone may be produced and obtained.

Above all, he who occupies himself with repairs can least dispense with these capabilities, since he is often intrusted with the most valuable instruments; but alas! with what inconsideration do those who possess such instruments often give them, for repair, to botchers and fiddle makers.

This proves how great in this regard is the lack of correct judgment. Through such spoilers of violins most Italian violins have come to naught, because many who own such instruments think that whenever any one makes a neat piece of work and knows how to use his chisel, file and sandpaper, he is the man to be intrusted with such instruments. But where there is a lack of science, the repairer's work, be it ever so neat, may cause damage in half an hour which will be greater than can ever be made good again.

If a violin maker constructs bad instruments it is his own damage, but to make bad repairs is to ruin the instruments of others, the creations of masters.

Neither is a violin maker who does not know how to construct excellent instruments a good repairer. Yet there are many who think that good repairers need not possess the knowledge of making good violins. But what a mistake! It seems, however, wisely ordained by nature that even he who is less gifted and less learned may enjoy life, and thus gladly bear sacrifices in consequence of his error.

This is the plain and simple explanation of matters in regard to the manufacture of violins and the knowledge of tone, and those to whom this does not seem comprehensible may submit to a more thorough experience than they have gained until now; in this case they will, after they have fully convinced themselves of it, sometimes remember G. G.

A REPLY TO MR. E. SCHELLE'S CRITIQUE CONCERNING THE VIOLINS IN THE EXHIBITION OF VIENNA IN THE LEIPSIG "NEUE ZEITSCHRIFT FUR MUSICK," No. 52, 1873

In the foregoing circular, treating upon violins, I said: "It is indisputable that no production of art in the world has been less understood than the violin." This truth has proved good again in Mr. Schelle's critique concerning violins, and it shows how little he is able to judge about them! In his very introduction it is plainly shown that he has made no studies in regard to tone when he says: "Thus an idea came to Vuillaume to make, by a chemical preparation, wood to look like that of the old violins. Instruments made of this material excel in regard to their splendid and real Italian tone."

Against this I assert just the contrary and can prove it to be nonsense by the fact that wood, when submitted to a chemical process, will produce a dry, covered tone, and the noble quality of tone – that which affects the heart – is lost.

Mr. Schelle then says: "We may also discover a similar experiment in the instrument which Mr. George Gemünder, of New York, has in the exhibition, under the ostentatious name of Kaiser Violin (Emperor Violin). Of course its manufacturer would protest against this insinuation, for in a little pamphlet he declares that by the assistance of three sciences, the mathematics, acoustics and knowledge of the wood to be chosen, he had not only comprehended the system of Italian school, but had even discovered errors in it, etc."

Mr. Schelle further says: "There have been many celebrated violin makers who were gifted with the same talents and learned in the same sciences, yet they could not reach what they aimed at, in spite of their most strenuous efforts. We confess quite openly that in spite of his assurance we harbor the suspicion that Mr. Gemünder has taken refuge in a chemical preparation of the wood. The violin in question, a faithful imitation according to Guiseppe Guarnerius, is indeed beautiful in its appearance and has a very excellent tone. But the extravagant, really American, price of ten thousand dollars could only be excused when its excellence should have been proven good in future," etc.

From this (Mr. Schelle's) critique it is evident that he has tried to throw into the shade the interesting production of art which I had in the exhibition, in order to be enabled to put the productions of the Vienna violin makers in a more favorable light. But this proves that only such persons as are destitute of sufficient knowledge to judge of violins may be transported to such one-sided critiques, dictated either by partiality or other interests; for if that were not the case Mr. Schelle ought to have blushed with shame in regard to that injustice and disrespect with which he illustrated the experience of an artist and spoke of his talents and sciences, to which Mr. Schelle is as much a stranger as he is to the artist's person!

As Mr. Schelle takes into consideration that the violin at ten thousand dollars exhibited by myself must first undergo "a proof of time," it may be rather advisable for Mr. Schelle to take a lesson of Gemünder, that he may learn those characters of tones which will prove good in future and which will not; so that he may be able hereafter to show better knowledge in his critique upon violins!

From my childhood I have grown up in this art in Germany and have devoted myself to all those studies which are connected with it. The last four years in Europe I passed at Vuillaume's in Paris, consequently I am acquainted with the entire European knowledge of the construction of violins.

Since 1847 I have made violins in America, therefore my instruments do not require to be subjected to a "proof of time," for it is without such a one that I have solved the problem and secured at once the fine tone which all the preceding violin makers strove in vain to find. I obtained my purpose in quite a natural way. This knowledge, however, does not lie in an object whose secret is only to be secured by a patent; it lies purely in the gifts of man. Another century may pass by before this problem will be solved again. The closing page in Mr. Schelle's critique sounds like a lawyer's pleading in favor of a criminal. In this regard his writing is quite creditable, for he has well pleaded the cause of the violin makers of Vienna!

But then those words in my circular about violin makers proved true again: "This wonderful instrument has still remained an enigma to the musical world until now. How fortunate it is that it does not understand human language, by which circumstance it escapes the medley of opinions which have been given in regard to it."

When, however, its clear tone was heard, and the easiness with which the tones came was noticed, then it became an enigma to professional men and they declared that this violin was an original fixed up again!

But later, when it was objected to and found to be a new Gemünder violin, it was ignored even in the newspapers. The Neue Wiener Tageblatt, of Vienna, called it afterwards "the false Cremona violin!" How envy here glared forth again; for this violin was not exhibited as a Cremona violin, although it has been demonstrated that it had been previously really taken for a genuine Italian instrument.

Its introduction as "Emperor Violin" had a force and pungency which tickled the professionals, and what surpasses all belief is, that they themselves crowned the work. It was, indeed, the greatest premium that I could gain, in spite of all the pains which those men gave to themselves to deprive me of my merit. Thus a moral prize values higher than a piece of metal?

Although many mocked at the high price, yet no such violin could be made by all those deriders, should millions of dollars be offered to them. Therefore an unrivaled artist has the right to fix any price on his productions. Although an offer of $3,000 was made for it, yet nobody was charged to sell it, even if $10,000 had been presented.

The newspaper of the exhibition of Vienna, published on the 17th of August, 1873: "Gemünder found fault with the Italian constructions and those of Vuillaume."

If Gemünder had not extended his studies so far he would probably not have stirred up those matters which had given such a headache to those people of Vienna, for George Gemünder became thoroughly acquainted with both the faultless and the faulty points of the Italians in the construction of violins. If those people of Vienna had had the good luck to discover imperfections on the above mentioned constructions, then they would have made a great cry about it.

The same newspaper says in another passage: "The tone of this violin is indeed strong and beautiful and has an easiness that pleases, also it has not that young tone peculiar to the very best new violins." In saying these words the writer confesses the truth in his innocence, and this verdict crowns this violin again, because this character of tone is just that one which all violin makers in the nineteenth century have been trying in vain to find.

And further: "For this reason some professional men gave vent to the suspicion that the wood was submitted to an artificial preparation, probably by the use of borax." Such was the nonsense to which this peerless violin was subjected, since there was none to take up its defence. The annexed description in which all chemical preparations were peremptorily opposed, was entirely disregarded by them. Thus there is no other way to advise those pseudo-professional men to have such borax violins made and patented!

To those gentlemen who call themselves professional men, I, George Gemünder, declare that I am ready at any time to sacrifice my "Emperor violin" or any other which I have made, and I propose to give it to the best chemists in the world to be cut to pieces, that they may examine the wood and ascertain if any chemical preparation has been used. If this is found to be the case they may be allowed to scold and blame me publicly as much as they please; but, if nothing of that kind is found, they are to pay ten thousand dollars for the "Emperor violin."

Address: GEORGE GEMUNDER.

Astoria, New York.