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| Tuesday March 22, 2011
Lecture at the University of Stellenbosch/ South Africa
I will give a short lecture on the late late Luise Walker and her 1924 Santos Hernández guitar on March 31st The talk will cover the life and work of the late Viennese guitarist Luise Walker and her wonderfull 1924 Santos Hernández guitar. I will go into detail of its construction and the aesthetics of sound of that era. It will take place in the Jannasch lecture hall of the University of Stellenbosch on March 31st at 13.00. The entrance is free. Looking forward to seeing you there!
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The »Danube Guitar Duo«, consisting of Franz Helfersorfer and Karin Zimmermann will perform in the "Jakobikeller" in Gaaden
The series of irregular guitar concerts will finally resume again! The concert of the »Danube Guitar Duo« begins at 7:30 pm in St. James Keller (Pfarrplatz 1) in Gaaden.
Exclusively on the program are works of the 20th Century
Tickets are available at the box office for adults € 13, for children and students € 11 (on sale € 10 / € 8). They are available at the tobacconist Lustig (Main Street, Gaaden) and me (Tel: 02237/8418, 0664/23 037 10 or office@tobiasbraun-guitars.com).
picture gallery
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From Trash to Treasure: In the current issue of American magazine "American Lutherie" appeared the combined report of a factory restoration guitar from Valencia.
Good things take time:
After the editor of American magazine American Lutherie, Tim Olsen (www.luth.org) , two years ago became aware of my report on the restoration of a guitar from Valencia and historical research, it is finally here.
In the current issue of autumn 2008, a thirteen-page summary of my talk is to be found. The appearance was preceded by some serious work. After briefly considering, I decided to arrange for a professional translation of the nearly 60-page original manuscript.
The guitarist and translator Francis Montocchio was when native speaker , the ideal candidate for this job. As Tim Olsen always plan ahead several editions, it was then simply wait. After he had sent me a summary of his proposals (with questions and suggestions) last spring and summer and my additions were housed in the text, I am very satisfied with the outcome. A visit to the website above ageführten the Guild of American Luthiers is worth in any case. Curious will find the first text of the original manuscript pages in the chapter Publications .
...to come in view
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Impressions from my workshop
A few weeks ago the young photographer Maria Sturm visited my workshop. Together with the Italian, Vienna based, guitarist Massimo Stefanizzi she came to get an impression of a musical instrument maker`s work. In the picture gallery you can see the very lovely results of her visit... If you want to visit her - here is her address: www.sturm-fotodesign.com
That`s indeed a very nice compliment...
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...I received from my Chinese dealer.
At the Shanghai Music Fair which took place in October my Chinese dealer, Mr. Yuanzi WANG presented his new catalogue. If you want to see more, click the photo galery, or have a look at his website: www.xzjtw.com.
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Of course I enjoyed a cream tea in the afternoon but...
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Since March 2007 Mr. Miles Roberts of 'Kent Guitar Classics Ltd' is the distributor for my instruments in England and Ireland.
Of course I enjoyed a cream tea in the afternoon but the main purpose of my journey to the lovely English county of Kent was to meet Mr. Miles Roberts, international dealer of Classical and Flamenco guitars located in Sevenoaks. With me I had a custom made maple guitar from the collectors` series (see picture gallery). Very quickly we agreed on a cooperation for the future. I must admit that we clicked glasses in a nearby pub with something stronger than the above mentioned cream tea
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New machine heads
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I am proud to present new designed hand-made machine heads that I will put on my guitars starting this autumn. Earlier this year I developed the pattern of squares or diamonds for the plate which are made either of tarnished or polished brass (see photos). My initials are engraved in this pattern. The buttons are made of snake wood.
My workshop as a film location
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filmteam in my workshop
Last Saturday a filmteam of the ORF (the Austrian television cooperation) was shooting sequences for a five minute report about my instruments and profession. It will be on air in approximately two weeks (you will find the exact time here on my website). The film team spent almost nine hours to film in my workshop and the surroundings of Gaaden. The musical part was played by the Viennese guitar player Franz Helfersdorfer.
[B]N.I.C.E. workshop aprons
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After hard and exhausting tests under extreme workshop condtions we are proud to present some really nice workshop aprons! Large in size (80x100 cms, 100% cotton) and available in two colours (blue or beige) their perfect fit is finally enhanced by the N.I.C.E. logo. They cost 11 Euro each (excl. p+p). Orders: office@tobiasbraun-guitars.com
N.I.C.E.
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Neufeldner Instrument Makers' Congress and Event
From October 21st to 23rd 2005 the fifth anniversary of our congress took place in the remote little village Neufelden (Mühlviertel, Upper Austria) with 66 participants from six European countries. As in the past, our goal was to foster professional development as well as the exchange of ideas. With this in mind we had organized a very interesting and varied program. As usulal, well-known specialists were talking to us about their specific expertise. We were especially honoured and pleased to welcome world-renowned guitar maker José Luis Romanillos as a speaker at the congress. His topic was the history and development of the Spanish guitar. Alfons Huber was talking about "Cheap and Expensive Wood Surface Imitations", Fridolin Rusch about "Lacquer/Varnish Touch-up Work", Simone Zopf and Nupi Jenner about "The Use of Moiré Patternsfor Analysis of Bowed Instruments" and Tobias Braun about "The Restauration of a Factory-Made Spanish Guitar (1900)". The restorer Franz Hobl gave a practical session on "Wood Imitation Work". Friday`s night concert was played by Chiara Massini (Cembalo) and Luciano Contini (lute). On Saturday evening the audience enjoyed a program performed by the Viennese guitarist Martin Schwarz. A premiére was the exhibition of tonewoods, tools and machine heads ("Tonewood Kölbl" - Austria, Maderas Barber - Spain, "Rubner" - Germany, and "Tremmel"). Please, keep in mind the dates of "N.I.C.E. 2006": October 20th - 22nd! P.S.: In the meantime, have a N.I.C.E. time!!
