I make string instruments – violins, cellos and viols – for musicians who play in early music orchestras and advanced amateurs. I generally work to order, so I maintain a close relationship with my clients around the world.

Crafting period instruments is slightly different to the challenge of making modern violins and cellos. The idea is to recreate the sound produced by orchestras 300 or more years ago. That requires a knowledge of the history, a lot of time spent with musicians, but most importantly a never-ending passion for instrument-making.

It is important to have solid foundations. You need to know how to work and shape the wood to an exceptional standard. The essence in this craft comes above this level, where tone and personality are all that matters. When you reach this level, you have endless freedom to create.

I was commissioned to make a baroque cello for the Haute École de Musique of Genève in 2016. In that same year, Bruno Cocset, one of the greatest baroque cello players in the world, came to Hungary to perform Bach’s cello suites. Earlier in the year, he had asked me if he could play the cello I was currently making. I was just putting the strings on as his plane landed. He played it for the first time the next night and it was an amazing performance. The cello was just one day old.