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Thomas Meuwissen (born 25 March 1966, in Leuven) is a Belgian violinmaker. Since 1987, he has been working exclusively on the production of modern and baroque violins, violas, and cellos. His work includes antiqued copies of instruments by old Italian masters (such as Antonio Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesù, Matteo Goffriller, and others).
Thomas Meuwissen was trained at the British Newark School of Violin Making, later developing his skills in the workshops of Premysl Špidlen in Praag, and Fréderic Chaudière in Montpellier.[ citation needed ] He now lives and works in Brussels, and has been the ‘violin-maker in residence’ at the Royal Conservatory since 1993. His work is held in private and public collections at Royal Conservatory of Brussels in Belgium, [1] The Beckett Collection in the UK, [2] Muziekinstrumentenfonds in the Netherlands, [3] and Dextra Musica in Norway.[ citation needed ]
In 2006, Thomas Meuwissen was elected to the International Association of Violin and Bow Makers. [4]
Thomas Meuwissen was awarded at various international violin making competitions:
Antonio Stradivari was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, Stradivarius, as well as the colloquial Strad are terms often used to refer to his instruments. It is estimated that Stradivari produced 1,116 instruments, of which 960 were violins. Around 650 instruments survive, including 450 to 512 violins. His instruments are considered some of the finest ever made, and are extremely valuable collector's items.
A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari, during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are considered some of the finest instruments ever made, and are extremely valuable collector's items.
Igor Davidovich Oistrakh was a Soviet and Russian violinist. He was described by Encyclopædia Britannica as "noted for his lean, modernist interpretations".
André Souris was a Belgian composer, conductor, musicologist, and writer associated with the surrealist movement.
Marcel Alfred Quinet was a Belgian composer and pianist.
W. E. Hill & Sons (1880) is a London-based firm that specialises in violins and other string instruments, and bows. It was also known as William Ebsworth Hill & Sons or William E. Hill & Sons.
Julianus Marie August De Boeck was a Flemish composer, organist and music pedagogue. He was the son of organist and director Florentinus (Flor) De Boeck (1826-1892)
The Royal Conservatory of Brussels is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Providing performing music and drama courses, the institution became renowned partly because of the international reputation of its successive directors such as François-Joseph Fétis, François-Auguste Gevaert, Edgar Tinel, Joseph Jongen or Marcel Poot, but more because it has been attended by many of the top musicians, actors and artists in Belgium such as Arthur Grumiaux, José Van Dam, Sigiswald Kuijken, Josse De Pauw, Luk van Mello and Luk De Konink. Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone, also studied at the Brussels Conservatory.
Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick, was a Belgian violin player, composer and teacher. His violin was made by Antonio Stradivari in 1705 and has since become known as the Ex Marsick Stradivarius. It was the instrument of David Oistrakh from 1966 to 1974. Marsick's nephew, Armand Marsick, the son of his brother Louis François, was a major violinist of the 20th century.
André Laporte is a Belgian composer.
David Laurie - was a distinguished 19th century violin collector.
Lucien Goethals was a Belgian composer.
Boyan Vodenitcharov is a Bulgarian pianist and composer.
Lucie Vellère was a Belgian composer.
Albert Huybrechts was a Belgian composer.
Tim Jansma was a notable contemporary luthier; a maker of violins, violas and cellos. He apprenticed at William Moennig and Son in Philadelphia and graduated from the International School of Violin Making of Cremona, Italy. The original Jansma Violin Shop was in Cremona, Italy and later was permanently established in Fremont, Michigan, USA in 1977. Jansma instruments are sold around the world to professional musicians and students.
The Jean-Lucien Hollenfeltz collection consists of the private collection of physician, humanist, and scholarly musician Jean-Lucien Hollenfeltz, which is held by the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. The collection contains books and musical documents from Constanze Mozart (1762–1842) and her youngest son, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (1791–1844).
The Maria Malibran collection is the donation, made in 1913 by the widow of the Belgian lieutenant general Henri Emmanuel Wauwermans to the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, of a part of her husband's collection of documents and belongings from the illustrious mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran and her close family.
The Józef Wieniawski collection is a donation made to the Royal Conservatory of Brussels by his oldest daughter, Elisabeth Wieniawska (1892–1978), of a collection of autograph scores from the composer.
The Laurent Halleux collection is the donation, to the library of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, of printed scores and manuscripts from the Belgian violinist Laurent Halleux (1897–1964), by his daughter, Suzanne Keller-Halleux.
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