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The first workshop for the production of professional, handcrafted violins has commenced operations in Tbilisi. It was established within the stringed instrument workshop of the Tbilisi State Chamber Orchestra "Georgian Sinfonietta". Specialized equipment for these "local Stradivari" was acquired by the Georgian Ministry of Culture, as reported by spress.ge. This marks the first time a professional workshop for the creation of stringed instruments adhering to advanced European standards has been established in the country. Its artisans will be capable of repairing and enhancing the sound quality of old stringed instruments, as well as crafting new ones.

The sole Georgian certified luthier of the renowned Cremonese violin making school, a master of classical stringed instruments, restorer, expert, and musician, Levan Tsintsadze, will work in this specialized workshop alongside his students. In 1982, he graduated from the stringed instruments department of the Tbilisi State Conservatory with a major in violin. Subsequently, he studied under Italian violin making masters. In 1996, the Georgian master graduated from the Antonio Stradivari International Institute of Violin Making, located in Cremona, the birthplace of the violin.

As noted in the publication, the first violin making workshop there opened as early as 1539, and the institute itself was founded in 1938. Andrea Amati, the first Cremonese violin maker, developed a unique craft method in the 16th century, which he passed down to his descendants. It was through the refinement of this knowledge that Antonio Stradivari later became world-renowned. In 2012, the knowledge and know-how of the masters of the Cremonese tradition were inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. The Tbilisi workshop will become a pioneer of the Cremonese school not only in the country but also in the entire region. According to experts, the workshop can realistically expect to receive orders for the repair, tuning, and manufacture of stringed instruments from neighboring countries and even from further abroad, the spress.ge article states.

Photo: snl.no