This spring, Palatino introduces a new professional-level violin line designed by one of the world’s greatest violin builders, Master Ming-Jiang Zhu.
Master Zhu won the gold medal for his superior violin craftsmanship this past November at the prestigious Violin Society of America competition. He has won multiple gold and silver awards at the annual competition, and is one of the world’s most revered violin builders.
Palatino Concertmaster Violins are handcrafted by Ming-Jiang Zhu Studios. Each model is created by one of Zhu’s small team of builders from start to finish, with the highest-quality tonewoods and ebony fittings.
Concertmaster violins are available with Guarnerius-style and Stradivarius-style bodies, and options ranging from a select spruce or European spruce top, Tonica or Dominant strings and more. Each model features a special hand-varnish to match the finish of classic violins from the early 18th century.
Master Zhu takes inspiration from antique instrument restoration and the works of old Italian master builders. He has received regular acclamation not only for the construction of his violins, but also for the authentic, expressive tone they create.
The following feature was translated from the Dec. 2006 issue of Chinese Celebrity Magazine:
An Interview with the National Violin-Making Master, Mr. Ming-Jiang Zhu
Compared to Italy, which has over 300 years of violin-making history, the Chinese history of violin making is very short. Additionally, Chinese violin masters are rarely known to the public.
Recently, the Violin Society of America competition awarded gold medals for excellent workmanship to several Chinese violin-making masters, which gives them a reputation as first-class masters.
On November 28, 2006, our reporter interviewed the gold medal winner Mr. Ming-Jiang Zhu. 12 years ago, Mr. Zhu was the first Chinese to win the gold medal award from the VSA competition. Twelve years later, Mr. Zhu won gold again from the same competition, which is ranked the highest competition in the violin-making industry. Mr. Zhu is 50 years old and told the story of his life with the violin.
Learning to Build When He Was 20
Mr. Zhu's childhood dream was to become a carpenter or an artist; he never thought about becoming a violin builder. He did not know what a violin was at that time. In 1975, the first Chinese violin-making institute was established in Guangzhou. Twenty-five students were admitted to the institute and Mr. Zhu was one of them. His instructors were Mr. Guo-Hui Liang and Mr. Fu Xu; they both were well-known violin-making masters in China.
The Path to Success
Mr. Zhu worked for the Guangzhou Musical Instrument Research Institute once he graduated. His office was an extremely worn-out wooden garret; the working environment was really poor at that time. Mr. Zhu continued studying violin making with Mr. Liang at the research institute.
• In 1986 and 1990, Mr. Zhu won the Excellent Workmanship awards for his violin from the VSA. He then won three workmanship awards from the 10th competition in 1992.
• In 1994 Mr. Zhu received the highest award, the gold medal of violin making, from the 11th competition.
• In 1998, from the 13th competition, Mr. Zhu again obtained three awards.
• From the 14th competition in 2000, Mr. Zhu was ranked the highest in technique and awarded the silver medal for violin making.
• In 2002 and 2004, he obtained the Workmanship awards respectively.
• In 2006 Mr. Zhu again received the highest award, the gold medal for violin making, from the 17th annual VSA. He also received the Excellent Workmanship for viola making.
In the past 20 years, Mr. Zhu received 16 awards in total. He is the first Chinese individual to win the most prestigious awards at the VSA and the most awards overall. Mr. Zhu soon acquired a worldwide reputation for quality violin making; he was interviewed by Time magazine, The Strad, and Reuters television. In 1996, the VSA honored Mr. Zhu for his contribution towards the violin-making industry in China and in 1997 nominated Mr. Zhu as one of the top 5% violin-making masters in the world. In 2002 Mr. Zhu was elected to be the Vice President of Violin Making Master’s Branch of the China Musical Instruments Association.
Back Home with Woods
Mr. Zhu brought 20 pieces of Bosnian wood home after participating the 17th annual VSA competition. “I spend a lot on buying woods," he said. "These Bosnian woods are suitable for making violins, but it is difficult to buy this kind of wood in China. So I would buy some every time I come back to the U.S. This time I have thrown away several pieces of clothes for fitting these woods in my luggage.”
Mr. Zhu never gets tired of making violins even though he has been a violin-making master for 30 years. “I treat every single violin as a work of art since they are all handmade. I usually make no more than 10 pieces of violins every year. The production is totally different from the factory, which uses machines to make violins,” Mr. Zhu said. Mr. Zhu now leads a group of students and apprentices committed to a
life of making violins by hand.
“Making an amazing violin is not simple and takes at least a year to complete. There are several dozen tools for making a violin,” Mr. Zhu then expounded the procedure for making a violin to the reporter.
Mr. Zhu explained, “The perfect technique is the key element of making a high-quality violin. “ Additionally, the wood being used to make the violin not only affects its appearance, but also its sound quality. Mr. Zhu therefore would only use the best woods to make his violins.
Besides materials, a good design play an important part in violin making. “My instructor, Mr. Liang stated that the fingerboard’s radius is the determining factor of a violin’s sound quality. I always keep this statement in mind while I’m designing the violin.”
Applying a coating on a violin demands an advanced technique and lots of patience. Mr. Zhu explained, “A good varnish protects the violin from the dirt, the scratch, and the wet; a good varnish assists the violin in producing a wonderful sound. If someone removed the varnish from an Italian antique violin, the value for that violin would be reduced by at least one half.”
Mr. Zhu believes the key to success is to treat the violin-making process as the creation of an art with the addition of advanced technique. His next target is to make a world-class violin. “Most violins are made in and exported from China. We have continued improving the quality of our violins; however, many foreign consumers still would feel uncomfortable to buy a Chinese made violin. As more and more Chinese violin-making masters win awards from international competitions, China will soon acquire a reputation as a first-class violin-making country.” Mr. Zhu said firmly.
Palatino Concertmaster Series by Master Ming-Jiang Zhu available in Spring 2007!
