Roger Hargrave
photo by RR Studio
Roger
Hargrave was born in Leeds England in 1948. He initially studied fine
arts and for a time taught painting in English state schools. In the
1970’s he made harpsichords and spinets, before retraining as a
violinmaker at the Newark school in England. From the Newark school he
joined the workshop of W. E. Hill & Sons London, where he worked as a
restorer of fine Italian instruments. In 1981 Hargrave moved to Bremen
in Germany as manager of Geigenbau Machold’s workshop. At Machold’s he
was responsible for assembling one of the largest and most distinguished
teams of bowed stringed instrument restorers in the world.
Although Roger Hargrave’s reputation was founded upon his ability to
create instruments with exceptional tonal qualities, his work as a
restorer of fine instruments has also given him a singular insight into
the secrets of their aesthetic beauty. In 1986 he established his own
business specialising in detailed reproductions and modern instruments
inspired by the classical Italian tradition. For many years he has been
recognised as one of the worlds leading copyists and he has won many
awards, including a coveted gold medal at the International Triennale in
Cremona, Italy. His instruments are played by some of the worlds
leading professional musicians including many concert masters and
several world renowned soloists.
Quality violins begin and end
with quality materials. Hargrave’s instruments are made from the finest
selected materials. Much of his tone wood stock is over 100 years old;
some is more than twice that age. Every instrument is mounted with the
finest handmade boxwood or ebony fittings. His fingerboards are of
premium quality aged ebony, which although expensive resists ware far
longer than the inferior stained woods that are available today. During
the working process all of these materials are constantly subjected to
quality controls. They are worked with all the tradition and experience
that Hargrave’s almost forty years in the business can muster, however
Hargrave does not neglect the various possibilities proffered by modern
scientific equipment.
Since the mid 1980’s Hargrave has been
much in demand as a judge and lecturer at international violin
conventions and he has been a regular contributor to the ‘Strad’
magazine for more than twenty years. He has published numerous books and
articles dealing with the history and working methods of the classical
Italian violin makers.
In 1994 he was instrumental in
organising an exhibition of works by the Cremonese maker Giuseppe
Guarneri del Gesu, which was staged at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York. Following this exhibition two volumes on the life and works
of Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu were published in 1998. These books are
lavishly furnished with technical and explanatory drawings by Hargrave,
and together with his dissertation on the stylistic development of
Guarneri del Gesu and his reconstruction of the masters working methods,
they form a major part of this definitive work. Hargrave is now
recognised as the leading authority on the construction of classical
Cremonese violins and baroque instruments have become an important
element of his production. At present he is writing a comprehensive work
about the violinmakers of the Cremonese school.
Membership:
- EILA - Entante Internationale Des Maitres Luithiers Et Archetiers D'Art (International Society of Violin and Bow Makers; Internationale Vereinigung der Geigenbau und Bogenbaumacher-Meister)
- British Violin Makers Association. BVMA.
- Violin Society of America. VSA.
- Verband Deutscher Geigen und Bogenbaumeister. VDG.
