News

Paul Sadka is a bow maker living in England who worked in Italy, Hungary and France before. This elegant bow was constructed around 2000 while living in Budapest. A Sadka bow ’made in Hungary’.

Tamás Sziráki constructed this beautiful bow for the International Cello Bow Making Competition in Manchester in 2004. For his work on the head he achieved higher scores than his master. Congratulations!

This beautiful cello bow was a gift by Géza Sáli. Thank you.!

This violin bow was made by Antal Klier around 1910 in Szeged. This uniquely styled bow was part of the former Géza Molnár Collection. Donated by Pál Rácz. Thank you!

Another cello bow constructed by Tamás Ferencz for the International Cello Bow Making Competition in Manchester in 2004.

A bow stamped by Lajos Köhler. This charming bow was part of the former Géza Molnár Collection. Donated by Pál Rácz. Thank you!

This elegant baroque bow was constructed by László Lakatos. The stick was made of beautiful snakewood, the frog is of wavy fibred boxwood. Laci made this bow especially for our exhibition. Thank you!

This octagonal cello bow was made by József Horváth in 2008. Thank you!

JÁNOS LAKATOS 1950 – Born in Egerszalók. 1965-1966 – Accomplished his secondary education at the music faculty of Géza Gárdonyi Secondary School in Eger. 1967 – Worked as a musician together with his father in Mezőkövesd. 1968 – Musician in Budapest. 1969-1970 – Studied clarinet folk music in the Musical Studio. 1970-to retirement – Travelling the world as a clarinet player. 1995-1998 – Learnt bow making from József Horváth while also consulting Rudolf Rigó. 1997 – Started bow making in his home in Kispest.

This octagonal violin bow was made and donated by János Lakatos. Thank you.!

This interesting baroque bow was constructed by János Martin. The stick is made of cocoa tree, the frog is of the outer parts of a beautiful ebony tree. Half black heartwood, half white sapwood. Thank you!

A nice bow by Lajos Kónya. Thank you!

This interesting violin bow was constructed by István Kónya in Tata. Donated by the Kónya family. Thank you very much!

ISTVÁN KÓNYA sr 1919-1999 He studied photography from 1943. He got his master’s certificate of photography and opened his studio. From the age of thirteen he made attempts to make violins but he was 44 in 1964 when he decided to go to Cremona and learn the profession. He spent four years there. In 1968 he returned to Tatabánya with a diploma of merit. Later he moved to Tata where he devoted his whole life to instrument making. He won silver/second prize with his cello at the first Triennale in Cremona in 1976.

GÉZA SÁLI 1960 ‒ Born in Mezőhegyes. 1978-1980 – Learnt violin making under the supervision of Ferenc Lakatos in the workshop of the Franz Liszt Music Academy following twelve years of violin playing and completing his secondary education 1981 – Made his first bows (then Baroque) 1985 – Obtained his master’s certificate. February 1989 – ’Infected’ Etzler Bernd with bow making. 1989 – Graz, violin and bow maker. 1996 – Received his second master’s certificate in Vienna.

Klaus Grünke is not only an excellent bow maker, but he is also one of the most important experts on German bow making and co-author of the book "GERMAN BOW MAKERS".

This beautiful viola bow was made by Sándor Radics. Thank you!

RUDOLF RIGÓ 1949 – Born in Budapest. 1960s – Played the double bass in the Rajkó Orchestra supporting young talents. 1992 – Learnt bow making from Sándor Radics in his workshop in Sashalom. 1992-1993 – Continued his studies with József Horváth. Until his death in 2001 he was a productive bow maker. He developed his own model, signed his high quality bows with his own stamp. He also constructed excellent French bow copies. His early death was a great loss for the Hungarian bow making profession.

ATTILA SZITHA 1955 – Born in Karcag. Started playing the piano at the age of four and the cello at the age of six. Completed his secondary school studies at the Zoltán Kodály Conservatory in Debrecen.

SÁNDOR RADICS 1951 – Born in Kartal. 1969 – Accomplished his secondary education as a double bass student at the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest. 1969-1990 – Worked as a musician. 1981-1985 – Studied bow making from József Horváth. 1985 – Started producing bows in Budapest. 1992 – Rented a workshop with Károly Tóth in Sashalom. 1994 – Moved to Vienna. 1996 – Established his workshop in Gols. 2006 to date – Working in Frauenkirchen. Apprentices: Károly Gáspár (1991-92) and Rudolf Rigó (1992-93)

TAMÁS FERENCZ 1974 - Born in Sfântu Gheorghe, Sepsziszentgyörgy, Romania. 1994 - Accomplished his studies at the Sándor Plugor Art Lyceum, faculty of music. During his studies he already had attempts at musical instrument making, finally set up a kobza making workshop. 2003 - Moved to Hungary after six years of self-employment and studied in Bernd Etzler’s workshop in Göd. 2007 to date - Living with his family in Belgium while working for the Etzler workshop as an external colleague.

PÉTER DARÓCZI 1934 – Born in Szeged. 1953 – Started working for the Musical Instrument Factory in Szeged, learnt violinmaking under the supervision of Lajos and Miklós Sebők. 1957 – btained his vocational qualification. 1982 – Started running his own workshop on Hunyadi János sugárút while still working full time for the musical factory. As a craftsman he fully equipped his workshop with machines made by himself. He planes his bows octagonal, he buys ready-made frogs and doesn’t use a stamp.

This stick without a frog with the stamp of Pál Pilát was most probably made around 1910 in a master workshop in Markneukirchen. Planed beautifully, also carrying the marks of the Hermann Richard Pfretzschner school. Most probably it was made by one of the apprentices. Donated by Péter Benedek – thank you!

This special bow is the most exotic piece of our collection. Emil Telmányi was a Hungarian violinist who settled down in Copenhagen in 1919. He constructed this bow there in cooperation with Knud Vestergaard, a Danish violin maker in 1949. Their intention was to use it for the authentic presentation of Bach’s pieces for solo violin.

This violin bow stick was stamped in Mihály Reményi’s workshop. The original frog and bolt head have been lost, the marks of an improper change of bone on the head can be seen. It was meant to be a good quality student bow made of brazilwood, most likely from the early 20th century Germany. Found and presented to the collection by János Mezei.

This octagonal double bass bow was constructed and donated by László Várady-Szabó. Thank you very much!

This octagonal double bass bow was constructed and donated by László Várady-Szabó. Thank you very much.!

LÁSZLÓ VÁRADY-SZABÓ 1975 – Accomplished his secondary education as a double bass student at the Zoltán Kodály Conservatory in Debrecen. 1978 – Qualified as a Double Bass Teacher at the Franz Liszt Music College in Debrecen. 1976 – Double bass player of the MÁV Philharmonic Orchestra in Debrecen, later known as Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra, today as Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra.

KÁROLY PÉTERI 1955 – Born in Debrecen. 1974 – Finished his secondary education. 1976 – He gained his certificate as a watchmaker, in 1980 as an electrotechnican and in 1982 as an electrical mechanic. Beginning of 1980s – Started making violins alongside his full-time job. 1982-1989 – Improved his professional skills under the guidance of István Balázs.

This beautiful violin bow was constructed by Béla Szepessy around 1920. With a special frog made of tortoise shell it is a special ’guest’ in our collection until the end of May 2016. Péter Benedek lent this beautiful relic to our collection as well as donating two bows by Pál Pilát and András Bergmann. Thank you very much!

This beautiful violin bow was constructed by Béla Szepessy around 1920. With a special frog made of tortoise shell it is a special ’guest’ in our collection until the end of May 2016. Péter Benedek lent this beautiful relic to our collection as well as donating two bows by Pál Pilát and András Bergmann. Thank you very much!

GÉZA MOLNÁR Géza Molnár was born in a well-off family, which lost its wealth during the deprivatization period. He was the violist of the State Operetta Theatre and at the same time established the most significant private collection of musical instruments and bows of the Kádár era. He was a jolly, kind and generous man. All members of the former workshop of the Music Academy regularly worked for him. After a tour abroad he often invited us to his home to treat us with foreign delicacies. Unfortunately he died far too early.

This violin bow was stamped by Miksa Frirsz around 1920. Most likely to be made in a German workshop.

This is a violin bow stamped by Mihály Reményi in Budapest. The model of the frog is quite similar to the cello frog exhibited.

This is the second bow by Antal Klier from the Molnár Collection. It is very similar to its ’brother’, it was almost in a ’virgin’ state without any damage when we took photos of it. The stick is made of pernambucco, the frog is of ebony with silver settings. The head is a bit unique, the special ring makes the frog very interesting – the pearl eye is surrounded by a very thin silver ring. The master drilled the place of the pearl eye and the ring at the same time with a special drill, the ring was only bent, it was not soldered.

LÁSZLÓ TUCSNI 1948 - Born in Szekszárd. 1962-1966 - Violin student at the Music Conservatory in Pécs. Teacher: Mathild Grév. 1967-1970 - Continued violin studies at the Music Academy, faculty in Pécs. Teacher: Henrik Botvay. 1970 - Gained his degree, then worked in Yugoslavia for a year. 1971-2008 - Violinist at the Hilversum Radio Chamber Orchestra in the Netherlands, second concert master in the last years.

Ármin Sternberg set up his business at the end of the 19th century. Later his sons, Árpád and Ferenc took over the business. The Stenbergs were mainly traders of musical instruments, but they were also involved in construction and reparation. The company existed until 1949. A bow stamped by them can be seen here, the head of which unfortunately has been destroyed.

Attila Szitha sent us some beautiful photos from Milan. These will be presented in the next couple of days.

The following photos introduce the phases of bow making methods used by Attila Szitha .

All bow enthusiasts and everybody interested are warmly welcome!

My friend, Joachim Sinus Dennemann took a series of photos in the summer of 2014 in my workshop in Göd.

 György Ács and his son Bálint Ács made this nice short film. Thank you very much.

Károly Péteri could hand over his bow to us only on the day of the opening ceremony in the last minute, so we didn’t have time to take detailed photos of it. I only had the chance to take this quick shot in the museum with Tamás Sziráki. The bow moved into its showcase after the opening at eight o’clock and is very happy in its new home. Thank you very much for the bow.

This was the second Chinese competition, which also allowed the participation of bows. The members of the a first class jury were Stéphan Thomachot from France, Klaus Grünke from Germany and Tim Baker from Great Britain.