Étienne Vatelot (13 November 1925 – 13 July 2013) was a French

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

Biography

Étienne Vatelot is the son of luthier Marcel Vatelot, who opened his workshop in 1909, and Jehane Lauxerrois. He attended high school at the Institution Notre-Dame de Sainte-Croix. From 1942, he learned the craft of luthier in the workshop of his father, located at 11 bis in Paris. He perfected his skills in

Mirecourt Mirecourt () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vosges (French department), Vosges Departments of France, department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particula ...

with luthier Amédée-Dominique Dieudonné, in Paris in the studio of Victor Quenoil, then in New York at Rembert Wurlitzer. In 1949, he obtained the diploma of honor at the International Violin Competition of

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

(Netherland). In 1959 he was appointed

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

by the

Court of Appeal of Paris The Court of Appeal of Paris (, ) is the largest appeals court in France in terms of the number of cases brought before it. Its jurisdiction covers the departments of Paris, Essonne, Yonne, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Marne. ...

and succeeded his father. Étienne Vatelot used to compare his profession to that of a doctor. He was renowned for his diagnostic capabilities He regulated the instruments of numerous international soloists that he accompanied on tour, like French violinist

Ginette Neveu Ginette Neveu (11 August 191928 October 1949) was a French violinist. At the age of 15, she beat David Oistrakh to win the Polish Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition. She made several concert tours and was considered to be 'one of the finest vi ...

. During his career, he advised

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

Arthur Grumiaux Baron Arthur Grumiaux (; 21 March 1921 – 16 October 1986) was a Belgian violinist, considered by some to have been "one of the few truly great violin virtuosi of the twentieth century". He has been noted for having a "consistently beautiful t ...

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Ukraine, Stern moved to the United States when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union a ...

Anne-Sophie Mutter Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 29 June 1963) is a German violinist. Born and raised in Rheinfelden, Baden-Württemberg, Mutter started playing the violin at age five and continued studies in Germany and Switzerland. She was supported early in her car ...

, cellists such as

Maurice Gendron Maurice Gendron (26 December 1920, near Nice20 August 1990, Grez-sur-Loing) was a French cello, cellist, conductor and teacher. He is widely considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. He was an Officer of the Legion of Honor and a ...

and

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

, as well as

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

, whom he had known since the 1960s. He advised him to buy the Duport Stradivarius cello which he had appraised. He convinced Yehudi Menuhin to resell his Soil Stradivarius, which he deemed unsuitable for his playing, to

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...

. In 1973, he acquired a quartet of stringed instruments made in the same wood by luthier

Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (; 7 October 1798 – 19 March 1875) was a French luthier, businessman, inventor and winner of many awards. He was one of the finest French luthiers of the 19th century and a key figure in the world of violin making. ...

and nicknamed "les Évangélistes". In 2009, he allowed the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation, a patron of the

Modigliani quartet Modigliani Quartet is a French string quartet founded in Paris in 2003 by four close friends, following their studies at the Conservatoire de Paris. Founding violinist Philippe Bernhard left the group in 2016 and was replaced by Amaury Coeytaux. ...

, to acquire it so that they could be played together. In 1970, Étienne Vatelot created the national school of lutherie in Mirecourt. The luthier Jean-Jacques Rampal, son of the flautist

Jean-Pierre Rampal Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal (7 January 1922 – 20 May 2000) was a French flautist. Rampal popularised the flute in the post–World War II years, recovering flute compositions from the Baroque era, and spurring contemporary composers, ...

and assistant to Étienne Vatelot, took over his workshop in 1998 Étienne Vatelot gave numerous lectures and is the author of a book on ''Archets français'' ("French bows"). Les Archets Francais Volumes 1 and II
/ref> A foundation in his name was created to support young luthiers and bowmen by giving them

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

s. With the participation of the Paris City Council, he created an international competition for violin and bow making.

Distinctions

* Commandeur of the

Légion d’honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* Officier of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

* Chevalier of the

Palmes académiques Palmes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sir Brian Palmes, English landowner and politician * Sir Guy Palmes, English politician * Brian Palmes MP * Lieutenant General Francis Palmes * Major Billie Palmes * Captain Laurence P ...

* Commandeur of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

* Commandeur de l'

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

(after restoring the Stradivarius quartet of the

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid () is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest royal palace in Eu ...

)

References

External links

Concours Étienne Vatelot lutherie et archèterie 2011

Étienne Vatelot, Paris, 1980

French violin expert Étienne Vatelot dies aged 87
on The Strad
VATELOT RAMPAL - Experts String Instrument makers since 1909
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vatelot, Etienne 1925 births 2013 deaths People from Provins Luthiers from Paris Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Commanders of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Luthiers from Mirecourt

Biography

Distinctions

See also

References

External links