This is a fine new violin by Cremonese-trained Ukrainian maker Andrash Taras at my shop. You may remember I had another of these violins last year. As soon as it sold, I asked the maker for another one. For a few reasons he’d had to delay starting the next one for several months, but at last he began work on the new one. Unfortunately, mid-way through the process, he was forced to put the violin aside as conditions in Ukraine became dangerous.
For the next several months we kept in touch and he told me that his family had moved out of town to be out of the way of shelling and that he had been working as a sort of military policeman patrolling the streets at night for signs of espionage while his wife worked along with other women of the town to make camouflage netting all day long. It was good to hear when he was finally able to return to his home, and it was a wonderful surprise when he announced that he had finished the violin and had shipped it out.
I am pleased to have this violin available, both because of my admiration for the maker and because of the fact that it has been made in the midst of war. This model has a slightly higher and fuller arch than his last and has a brighter tone. At my request, Taras did some very light antiquing which compliments the wood rather nicely. It is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the maker. I am including some pictures below for reference. Please feel free to get in touch for more information.
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