German Music Industry
Ryoichi Totsuka began his notable career in the music industry right after college as a salesman for Kawai Pianos in Japan. The experience inspired Ryoichi-san as he sought other opportunities to contribute to the piano side of the industry. In 1980 he helped establish the European office for Kawai...
Thomas Hoyer is the product manager of string instruments and worldwide distribution for Paesold and Höfner. After receiving his master degree in violin making in 1998, he started in the Höfner master workshop. As a product specialist he later established production of violins in China and is now...
Roland Wilfer is a fourth generation master luthier of the Emanuel Wilfer Double Bass Master Workshop. The workshop was founded 1905 and is specialized in crafting fine double basses for classical music, jazz, rockabilly and blues. Owner Roland Wilfer visits three trade shows a year to meet his...
Hans Herb was a student at the school for instrument manufacturing in Bubenreuth. After completing his studies, he worked at Hoyer and Grüner, as well as Höfner before opening his own workshop. In the beginning, Hans focused on building lutes and later specialized in top quality guitars. His son,...
Dr. Susanne Schnitzer shares her memories growing up in the Kirschnek family. Grandfather Franz Krischnek, founder of Kirschnek String Instruments, was a businessman with worldwide connections (many of them to the United States) while his daughter Ilse Fischer managed the rest. She took the...
Ilse Fischer delivered orders for Kirschnek on her scooter to the luthiers of the music town of Schönbach/Luby. Her father, Franz Kirschnek, established the company which specializes in exporting string instruments in 1933. After a move to Klingenthal, the company expanded to add harmonicas and...
Bastian Teller is a bridge maker in the 5th generation. Since he was a child, Bastian wanted to step into his father Manfred’s footsteps. After receiving his state certified diploma for mechanical engineering he started in the family’s workshop. Over many years he learned from his dad how to choose...
Roland Schuster is a bridge maker in the town of Bubenreuth, which has been the center of production for string instruments in Germany since 1945. He started his craft in the workshop of Ernst Heinrich Roth and later worked for Josef Teller specializing in bridges. When violin makers asked him to...
Rudolf Neudörfer, bow maker, grew up in the Czech Republic after 1945 and went to the Violin Making School in Luby, learning the craft of violin making from his teacher Bohumil Pechar and Hans Schmirler. He then worked at the Cremona cooperation for string instruments in town until he escaped...
Harald Lorenz is the fourth generation of peg turners originating from a traditional farming community named Ursprung/ Počátky in the Czech Republic. The family looks back on 125 years of producing tuning pegs. Father Emil and his brother Alfred Lorenz resettled to Bubenreuth after 1945 to provide...