Arnold Voigt (1864 - 1952) is a
stringed instrument
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...
maker and
luthier
A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...
of the 19th to 20th century. He was born in
Markneukirchen
Markneukirchen () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany, close to the Czech border. It lies in between the Erzgebirge and the Fichtelgebirge in the Elstergebirge, southeast of Plauen, and northeast of Aš (Czech Republic) ...
, and worked there from 1890 till his death. During that time, he made copies of
Stradivari
Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) 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 colloquia ...
and other types of
Cremonese
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...
violins.
He was a student of Heberlein. He was the first of the Voigt family to settle in England (from 1885 and 1890) and some of his stringed instruments, especially his violins, were made there. He also made some fine bows for violin,
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
, and
viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
, which can reach prices of up to £3000.
The tonal quality of these instruments can be rather hard, but with almost no limit to volume.
The family of Voigt is largely associated with the London-based firm of that name, but it is true that the Voigt family never really gave up its German roots. This was truly a large family - the French authority René Vannes lists no less than 43 violin makers of that name.
Arnold Voigt (1864 - 1952), who was a student of Heberlein, in fact spent merely 5 years in London - from 1885 to 1890. For the rest, he lived and worked in his birth city - Markneukirchen, where he also died. He was prolific in his output as violinmaker, but Henly also calls him 'an expert bow maker. Faithful representations of celebrated models worked with an artistic eye.'
Arnold Voigt bows please from every perspective - it demonstrates beautiful workmanship on good material. The heads are a statement in elegance - more French than German. They bears Arnold Voigt's stamp on the shaft in the usual place, and also has the intertwined 'AV' logo embossed into the left flank of the frog, making this certainly his authentic work.
In England the firm of Voigt was the great competitor for the firm of W. E. Hill & Sons - in many respects their output was very much on a par, and situates this bow well in quality.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voigt, Arnold
1864 births
1952 deaths
Bowed string instrument makers