August Martin Ludwig Gemünder (22 March 1814,

Ingelfingen Ingelfingen is a town in the Hohenlohe (district), Hohenlohe district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Kocher, 4 km northwest of Künzelsau, and 36 km northeast of Heilbronn. History Numerous archeologica ...

– 7 September 1895, New York City) was an American violin maker who worked in the United States. With his brother, the great American

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 ...

George Gemünder Georg (George) Gemünder (13 April 1816 Ingelfingen - 15 January 1899) was a German-born American violin maker who worked in Boston, Massachusetts, and later, Astoria, New York. With his brother August and others, he pioneered the construction of ...

, and others, he pioneered the construction of quality violins in the United States.

Biography

His father was a violin maker and repairer and Gemünder was brought up in the business—taking over the shop on his father's death. In 1839, he moved to

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

and resided in several other cities in Germany as well. In 1846, he emigrated to

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, in the United States. Later he established himself in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and then New York City. Gemünder specialized in copying old Italian masters, especially the instruments of

Antonio Stradivarius 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 colloqui ...

Joseph Guarnerius Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...

, and Paolo Maggini. In 1844 he was asked by a German violinist to make a violin that should not be an imitation, as to tone or any other quality, of the Italian masters. In executing the order, he succeeded in producing an instrument that he preserved as a model. His violins were used by leading soloists, such as

August Wilhelmj __NOTOC__ August Emil Daniel Ferdinand Wilhelmj ( ; 21 September 184522 January 1908) was a German violinist and teacher. Wilhelmj was born in Usingen and was considered a child prodigy; when Henriette Sontag heard him in 1852 at seven years ol ...

and

Adolf Brodsky Adolph Davidovich Brodsky (, ''Adolf Davidovič Brodskij''; – 22 January 1929) was a Russian violinist who later moved to the United States. He enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a performer and teacher, starting early in Vienna, going o ...

. Perhaps his greatest masterpiece was a celebrated copy of

Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish violinist, composer and conductor of the Romantic period. His best known works include ''Zigeunerweisen' ...

Amati Amati (, ) is the last name of a family of Italian violin makers who lived at Cremona from about 1538 to 1740. Their importance is considered equal to those of the Bergonzi, Guarneri, and Stradivari families. Today, violins created by Nico ...

, which that artist pronounced equal to the original. August's violins possessed a pure, even tone quality, responded easily, and were thought to excel in power the Italian instruments they were copied from. Gemünder contributed a series of articles to the trade journals, in which he discussed “Old and New Violins,” including a comparison of the tone of those instruments with the human voice; “The Cremona Secret,” a disquisition on the wood used in the manufacture of violins; “The Lost Secret and Common Sense,” with others on Italian varnish, violin construction, etc. He worked at times in partnership with his brother George.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gemunder, August 1814 births 1895 deaths German emigrants to the United States American luthiers People from Ingelfingen German luthiers