Bio

Since completing his apprenticeship as a violin maker, André Mehler has increasingly devoted himself to crafting historical string instruments according to the practice of their historical period.

It all began with the realisation that 500 years of musical history should not be performed solely by instruments made according to a model standardised around 1800. To present music within its historical context, allowing it to sound as it did in its respective era, is the goal that André Mehler continues to pursue to this day.

During his studies in Markneukirchen at the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences in Zwickau and with Francesco Toto in Cremona, Italy, he had the opportunity to document and measure numerous original instruments preserved in museum collections. At the same time, he conducted research into iconographic depictions of musical instruments in paintings and into the analysis of historical varnishes. The resulting knowledge and skills form the basis for the creation of a wide variety of string instruments from the violin and viola da gamba families, spanning the Early and High Baroque, Classical and Renaissance periods.

Another key focus of his work is the restoration of historical instruments to their original condition, as well as repairs and bow rehairs, including for modern string instruments.