First Look

Those headings are more self-congratulatory than I like to be about my own work, but the words are not mine.  They are the unsolicited expressions of Julian Schwarz, cello soloist and professor of cello at Shenandoah University (and son of conducting great, Gerard Schwarz.)

This is the 6th of my personal model cellos I have made and it is delivering from the start. Julian played the cello when it had just a few hours of playing time on it. It is designed to sing with the golden trebles of the Strad Forma B and deliver the rich, silken, rumbling bass-end of a Montagnana. I spent long hours optimizing the tone and setup. I made two Belgian and a French hybrid style bridge for comparison and to allow the player to choose the quality of tone they favor: direct and soloistic or warm, rich, and woody. I spent hours breaking in the cello (as I always do). This work opens and speeds stabilization of the instrument, providing the player with a cello that is already well-along the path to maturity. I’ve also experimented with a range of string options to dial in on those that work best with this particular cello, and I tried a variety of tailpieces, tailguts, and after-length tunings in various combinations to optimize the tone.

The result is a cello that is set to satisfy the demands of the most advanced players, and evidently, that of a soloist.

Please inquire about auditioning this instrument.