Gliga's 20th Anniversary

The young girl smiles to herself, turns to her parents and points: “That one!”

Her parents acknowledge her choice, satisfied that her selection is one of excellent quality and that it has already inspired her to greatness. The price is right, too.

The sounds of music are never far from the ears of one of the world’s premiere craftsmen in the ancient art of stringed instrument production. It is within the head and hands of the maestro himself, Vasile Gliga, that real magic happens each day. His workshop in Romania, under his strict and keen guide, produces thousands of some of the finest violins, violas and cellos the music world has seen. Each one carefully made to create such a richness in tone, is seems the instruments emit flavors of multi-dimensional symphonic tastiness a 5 star gourmet chef would be envious.

From the Transylvanian forests in the Gurghiului Valley, also known as “the Italian Valley,” comes a very prized wood of resonance spruce and flamed maple (sometimes known as curly sycamore), that possesses rare acoustic properties that have been proven over time to be the premier choice for the instruments’ tops and backs. This is essential because as the vibrations of the strings course through the sound holes they strike the violin’s back and bounce forward again. The wood must have a certain type of fiber in order to produce the right kind of tone, vibrato and pitch which is sent outward through the top openings and into the ears of the listener.

For 20 years Vasile Gliga has created his masterpieces with the maples and spruces of the Italian Valley. He has lived in this wooded region and has gazed upon their beauty so often that he is able to view a felled log and visualize how many instruments he will be able to produce from it. But materials are but one half of the equation for the creation of the perfect stringed instrument.

Celebrating 20 years of musical mastery, Gliga Violins produces more than just beautifully artistic stringed instruments; they inspire musicians to play better and create joy for those fortunate to listen. From the earliest birth of his first violin in home in post-communist Romania, Mr. Gliga has been on the forefront of innovation while maintaining the tradition of the masters in both technique and materials.

Skilled in the traditional manufacturing of violins, cellos and violas, Vasile Gliga keeps one foot in the old world with his mastery of ancient wood crafting techniques but has incorporated modern applications in a seamless process so as to preserve their classical structure and harmonic resonance. Gliga produces instruments in the Guarneri and Stradivarius styles to accommodate varying musical styles. The Gliga line of contemporary violins has a full line of stringed instruments for the beginner, student, professional and maestro levels. Each violin, viola and cello are crafted for exquisite tone and richness and infused with the passion Mr. Gliga has felt since the days of his very first creation. Every musician who has held one of Vasile’s creations instinctively understands the Gliga violins are made to produce music from the heart.

As the Gliga family celebrates 20 years of producing some of the finest stringed instruments created, the words of world famous violinist Yehundi Menudin are a testament to Vasile’s skill and dedication to his craft. In his personal letter to Gliga, one that holds a place of honor at their headquarters in Reghin, the virtuoso expressed his feelings for the experience of owning and playing a Gliga violin.
? “Dear and very fine craftsman … I shall treasure the instrument you made …”

Whether your tastes and talent favor the Stradvari designs that captivates the listener with a mellow warm sound full of resonating tones and soaring pitches perfect for the classical compositions or a more earthy sound generated from the Guarneri styles that lends itself perfectly to country and folk music, Gliga creates violins that are a real treasure.

Like many enthusiastic musicians who want to play classical music in an orchestra and are looking for a concert violin, you may already know that not all instruments are equal. Two instruments may look perfectly alike, but when you play them, you discover that they feel and sound differently. Also, two violins priced the same may sound differently. Good master violin makers will use woods and techniques in the crafting that result in finished violins having excellent resonance and tone, consistent from an instrument to another. Due to the fact that violins are hand made, consistency in sound quality is something very hard to achieve.

Like everything that is human made, violins are subject to imperfection. The maker’s talent & skills on top of high quality materials used in the manufacturing process will produce performance violins that will allow accomplished musicians shine. Many people believe that only by playing many different instruments and having a discerning musical ear is it possible to appreciate the difference in sound quality that you get from a high quality violin; but that is not always the case. Quality is easily recognized even by non-experts. A beginning violin student will sound much better if using a high quality performance violin.

When you buy a Gliga violin, you are buying a performance violin that has been crafted to exact specifications and high quality standards. In an recent interview, master violin maker Gliga said that these violins are constantly tested during the construction process and they will not reach the next level in the production cycle unless all the previous manufacturing requirements have been successfully met. The European handmade violins made in Romania have earned a great reputation all over the world due to their exceptional sound qualities and playability. You cannot get the same quality and attention to detail when an instrument has been mass produced by machining. Handmade violins hold their market value much better and if later on you plan to sell them for whatever reason, you will be able to ask the same price you once paid to acquire them.

Gliga violins have been used by virtuoso violin players and beginners alike. The expertly tuned plates for optimal sound, and premium tone woods used in the construction of these fine violins, set them apart from all the others. When a Gliga Violin is made, it is with the aim of being used as an orchestra violin. This means that it must reach self-imposed high standards of playability, performance and projection. These handcrafted violins come in different colors, shades of varnish, and finishing styles to suit various individual aesthetic taste. The colour and finish although varied for different tastes are also of fundamental importance for the soloist violin player who is performing both for acoustic quality and visual beauty.

Gliga violins can be bought directly from their Canadian store at www.violinslover.ca or from the US store at www.violinslover.com .

1. The Maker
2. The Wood
3. The Varnish
4. The Size
5. The Price

1. The Maker: Where is the violin of your interest made and by whom? What is the reputation of that particular violin maker and for how long has he been in the violin business? Are there any buyer reviews available online? There are several forums, blogs, and review websites available on the Internet that should make your research very easy and bring out the truth about the violin maker you are interested in. If you choose to buy a violin online, extend your research and try to find out what the reputation of the online violin store is. Try to contact the store via phone, email or filling in a form that is available online and see what kind of response you get; try to see how fast, how friendly, how accurate, how knowledgeable, how useful the response you got was. All these elements of the online communication should give you clues about how your overall violin buying experience is going to be. I have recently tried to get an opinion on two violins from two different violin makers, and the response I got from a music store was this: “…the sound of a violin, as you know, is not standard. Each violin has its own tone and sound, and even the instruments made by the same maker, with wood from the same tree, can have a very different sound. Nothing compares with a violin made in a traditional European violin workshop. Europe has a great history and tradition in violin making and also has the best wood in the world. There is no accident that the most famous violins in history were made in Europe…”

2. The Wood: the wood used in violin making is of vital importance for the sound of the instrument. I would say with a high degree of confidence that the European wood is the best when it comes to instruments that need high quality resonance wood. Violins are traditionally made of flamed maple and resonance spruce. This is the traditional combination that most violin makers use. The top of the violin is made of resonance spruce. The back, the sides, and the neck of the violin are made of famed maple. The accessories (chin rest, tailpiece, pegs, and fingerboard) are made of ebony. The wood must be naturally dried up, in the open, to naturally achieve the perfect internal balance that will prevent the violin from cracking in the future. Wood is a material that changes its dimensions based on fluctuations in external temperature and humidity conditions. Here is an excerpt from an email I got from a reputable violin maker: “The wood we use at the construction of our violins has been dried up for several years, out in the open. It witnessed the succession of the four seasons several times and was exposed to direct weather, temperature, and humidity changes for a very long time. In hot summers the wood lost water and lowered its dimensions. In rainy autumn days, it absorbed water from the air and increased its dimensions. In cold winter days it froze, and preserved its dimensions, trying to find balance. After a few cycles of successive dimensional changes, the wood got to the point where it reached an internal balance, and all internal tensions at the molecular level disappeared. If there were any tensions in the wood that would cause cracks, those would have affected the wood in the manufacturing process, when the wood was severely “abused”. It almost never happens that a finished violin experiences cracks due to wood aging. Cracks can appear by exposing the instrument to sudden and extreme changes in temperature and humidity, but those changes should be really extreme to favor such an extreme response.”
3. The Varnish: String instruments in general, and violins in particular, can be finished with either nitro or oil varnish. My recommendation is to choose the violins finished with oil varnish. While the nitro varnish is sprayed on the violins, the oil varnish is applied manually, with a brush. The varnish is applied in several coats, regardless of the nature of the varnish. Before applying the next coat, the previous one has to dry completely. The difference between the oil varnish and the nitro varnish is that the nitro varnish dries up very quickly, and the next coat is applied within 10-20 minutes. The oil varnish takes longer to dry out, up to 24 hours, and after each coat, the varnished is leveled with a very fine sand paper, operation which ensures a homogenous distribution of the varnish and a perfect adherence of the varnish to the body of the violin. No air particles are allowed in the varnish applied on top of the violins, and the sanding phase ensures this. A violin can have 8-10 coats of oil varnish applied to it, but they all are extremely thin and light. The oil varnish has overall superior qualities. It has a better resistance and behavior in time. The oil varnish is very elastic and can take the dimensional changes of the wood very well. The nitro varnish, due to its limited elasticity, will crack if exposed to sudden changes in temperature and humidity. For example, if a violin finished with nitro varnish is stored in a room where the temperature is very high, the wood will dry out, which means it will loose water, and its dimensions will reduce. If a violin finished with oil varnish is stored in the same room, under the same temperature and humidity conditions, you will not notice anything. The oil varnish will follow the same pattern and will adjust its size accordingly. Unlike the oil varnish, the nitro varnish, due to its lack of elasticity, cannot lower or increase its dimensions, and it will simply crack.
4. The Size: Violin are made in several standard sizes that will accommodate violin players of different ages and arm lengths. In order to establish the correct violin size that you need, you need to extend your right arm and measure the length from your neck to the middle of your palm.
   Here is a chart that will help you determine the correct size, based on your measurement:

   Arm length	Recommended Violin Size
   23″ or more	4/4 (full size)
   22″	3/4
   20″	1/2
   18″	1/4
   16″	1/8
   15″	1/10
   14″	1/16

5. The Price: The price is not always a reflection of quality in the violins’ world, and I am sure all violin owners have come to this conclusion. Here is how the same violin store that I quoted above explains the pricing difference between the several violins they carry in their store: “The difference between the several violins in our store stays in the quality of the wood, the workmanship, and the set up. The price is a reflection of all factors, summed up. The better the wood, the workmanship, and the set up, the higher the sound quality, and the higher the price. We go progressively from $100 violins to $2,000 violins, to cover a very broad clientele, with different playing skills, sound quality needs, and budgets.”