Ashot Vartanian violin, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2004

complex, even, versatile

About the Instrument
This instrument is brilliant and projects well while having a deep, complex maturity. Its evenness and versatility would make it well-suited for orchestral playing. This violin has bright, reddish-brown varnish and a one-piece back with wide, prominent grain and subtle figure. The ribs are similar to the back. 

[further details about this instrument are forthcoming]

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.