Ashot Vartanian 16" viola, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2016 | Metzler Violins

brilliant, deep, immediate

About the Instrument
The viola has a lovely dark tone that projects a brilliant, even intimacy. A player searching for a larger viola that is easy to play, this is an excellent choice. This would be a fantastic viola for orchestral and chamber playing—a professional, life-long instrument! The varnish is a bright, reddish-brown with golden ground. The back is two-piece with luminous flame slanting downwards towards the bouts.

Interior label reads: "ASHOT VARTANIAN / Violin Maker of the Italian Tradition / Fecit Ann Arbor Anno 2016" (serial number S5289)
Measurements:
Length: 406 mm
Upper Bouts: 196 mm
Middle Bouts: 140 mm
Lower Bouts: 241 mm

About the Maker
Ashot Vartanian (?-2026) grew up in Yerevan, Armenia where he initially studied cello. Vartanian then went to learn lutherie at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and then moved on to study in Cremona, Italy in the late 1970s. After only a brief time in Cremona, he took the role of instructor at historic Scuola Internazionale di Liuteria. Later, Vartanian immigrated to the United States and settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he made instruments beloved by players worldwide. Vartanian was a master restorer of Old Italian instruments and his violins and violas carry on the Italian sound tradition, and was the Head of SHAR Repair & Restoration and Luthier. He served as a juror for the International Competition for Antiqued Instruments in Cremona.