The creation of my celli is driven by my desire to find many different colours in the sound: depth, warmth, distinction, clarity, power and, above all, the ability to support the player in expressing his or her emotions. It is always a miracle how a cello responds to the player. Does it give what the player is looking for? Does it challenge the player to search for more?

A cello maker has many ingredients to play with and many constraints to consider when designing and building an instrument. There is an almost endless source of combinations that work (and even more that don't). Celli built by previous makers prove my point. They are a source of inspiration when designing my own celli. There is no such thing as a good copy: make a good original.

Shape and curves

Old instruments provide a starting point for the shape. From the first build of a new model I "optimise" the curves until I am completely satisfied with the aesthetics of the design. Though the first build of a model may have f-holes that are very similar to the source of inspiration, for the final model I redesign the f-holes so that the eyes are equidistant from the edges and the connecting lines follow the curves of the instrument. The f-holes define the central part of the soundboard, which is very important for the projection of the instrument.

Arching and plate thickness

s The arching is crucial to the power, timbre and playability of my cellos. I adapt the architecture of the arching to the outline. The f-holes must fit organically into the arching of the top plate. The optimal thickness of the plates is "given" by the quality of the wood and judged by the flexibility and freedom of sound in the plates.

Choice of wood

I make my cellos from well seasoned wood, often purchased from retired luthiers. I use spruce (Sitka abies) from the Alps for the back and maple (Acer pseudo platanus) from the Carpathians.