Klotz (violin makers)

Klotz is a family of violin makers. Members of the Klotz (or Kloz) family have made violins in Mittenwald, Bavaria from the mid-17th century to the present. Matthias Klotz (1656–1743) founded the Mittenwald school of violin making. Mittenwald prospered and became well known for its violins.

A violin made by Josef Klotz in Germany in 1794
Matthias Klotz memorial in Mittenwald

In 1856, the Bavarian government founded a school in Mittenwald to continue the violin trade.[1] Dictionaries of violin makers list more than 25 artisans by this name.[2]

Typical labels:

  • Mattias Klotz Geigenmacher zu Mittenwald an der Iser 1697
  • Mathias Klotz Lauten und Geigenmacher in Mittenwald an der Iser Anno 1695
  • Mathias Kloz Lautenmacher. A label of the family in Mittenwalt Anno 1725.

Instruments by Sebastian Klotz (1696–1768) are probably the most admired among the many existing examples by this family.

Typical labels:

  • Sebastian Klotz in Mittenwald an der Iser 1734
  • Sebastian Kloz, in Mittenwald, an 1743
  • Seb. G. Kloz in Mittenwald, 1732

References
  1. Peterffy,Ernest. Music and Youth, April 1926, cited in The Rockford Register-Gazette, May 17, 1926. Helen Fish, "Klotz First of Violin Makers of Mittenwald", p. 15. "Search Klotz Violin Illinois"
  2. Abele, Hyacinth, and Geoffrey Alwyn. The Violin & Its Story: Or the History & Construction of the Violin. London: "The Strad" Office, 1905.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.