Ashot Vartanian violin, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2004

Ashot Vartanian grew up in Yerevan, Armenia, and studied cello. He went to Moscow to study luthiery at the Bolshoi Theater and then studied in Cremona, Italy in the late 1970s. After only a brief time in Cremona, he started teaching at the Scuola Internazionale di Liuteria. He is a master restorer of Old Italian instruments and his violins carry on the Italian sound tradition.

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. 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.