Widhalm, Leopold viola

[violins88]

 

 

A student is working on a viola model after Leopold Widhalm. The pattern we got from the luthierslibrary has the arches of the top and back being the same. Is this likely, or even possible?

 

Thanks,

 

John

[jacobsaunders]

Yes, more or less possible. More information here 

 

[ArethaGraham]

Thanks for the link, you saved my day

Edited October 17, 2025 by ArethaGraham

[pioneerfiddler]

I've never heard of Leopold Widhalm. Is this an English maker?

[uguntde]

Widhalm was Austrian born, worked in Germany, 18th century. You find him on Wikipedia. From my point of view an excellent  maker of his time.

[JacksonMaberry]

Pretty fantastic maker, very loosely inspired by Stainer but with no real connection. That didn't stop him from making some of the best instruments in his time and region. Extremely popular among the HP crowd set back up for playing with gut. 

[pioneerfiddler]

Just looked him up. Not so sure about those arches. Looks quite chicken-breasted.

[JacksonMaberry]

On 11/7/2025 at 4:18 PM, pioneerfiddler said:

Just looked him up. Not so sure about those arches. Looks quite chicken-breasted.

Fortunately for Widhalm, nobody cares if you're "sure". The instruments continue to stand the test of time and perform for professional musicians. 

Just goes to show ya, someone who knows what their doing can have success regardless of whether the punters can follow along or not. I'd have though del Gesu would have made that obvious by this point.

[Blank face]

The Widhalms or "Leopold Widhalm" as a kind of family shop name were very influential in South German violin making for several generations at several places, so they can hardly be overestimated.

[Dave Slight]

It’s always a good day when I get to work on a Widhalm. Excellent instruments.

[A432]

FWIW: with respect to arching: Although British great Albert Sammons went through fiddles liike snack nibbles, the good one he kept, lifelong, and  used for important concerts (including his iconic recording of the Elgar concerto) was a Stainer-pattern Goffriller.

 

[JacksonMaberry]

3 hours ago, A432 said:

FWIW: with respect to arching: Although British great Albert Sammons went through fiddles liike snack nibbles, the good one he kept, lifelong, and  used for important concerts (including his iconic recording of the Elgar concerto) was a Stainer-pattern Goffriller.

 

Boom