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.

Answer:
A violin is destined to be a master, a professional, an advanced, a intermediate or a beginner’s school violin from the beginning. It all starts with the selection of the wood. We know which violin we will make from a certain piece of wood since the moment when we unload the logs from the truck. Actually, sometimes, we know it since we buy the wood, without seeing it. Wood that comes from a certain part of the country, from a certain mountain, from a certain altitude, from a certain side of the mountain, usually qualifies for a certain quality level. All these attributes dictate the quality of the wood, which is reflected in the price of the wood. Higher quality wood is more expensive, and this is one of the reasons why a maestro violin is more expensive than beginner’s or an advanced level violin for example. I took some extreme quality levels, but there is a distinct difference in the quality of the wood between all levels.

There are over 200 stages that a simple piece of wood has to go through in order to become a violin. Like trees and like people, each violin is unique. Science will explain the uniqueness of each violin very easily: wood is an anisotropic material, which means that it does not have the same properties in all directions. Also, the wood has unique and independent mechanical properties in the direction of the 3 perpendicular axes, longitudinal, radial, and tangential, which makes each centimeter of wood from the same trunk different than the next one, in all three directions. The sound produced by a piece of wood is affected by its dimensions, density, humidity content and mechanical properties. As a result, each piece of wood has its own unique acoustical properties, which will make each violin a unique entity.

So, after having said all this, the next step that influences the price of the violin and the sound of the violin is the drying up phase. Wood is dried differently for each quality level, in both drying up method and length. The slower the drying up, the better the quality of the sound is, but, at the same time, the more expensive the stage.

The other factors that influence both the sound quality of a violin and its price are the quality of the varnish, the quality of the accessories, and most importantly, the skill level of the people who actually build the violins. People with more experience and talent will deliver better finished products, but they are getting paid higher salaries.

In short, costs and quality really go hand in hand, and there is a very close connection between the price and the quality of a violin. Everything can be very easily explained and justified.

Another problem that seems to preoccupy a lot those who are in the market for a violin is whether they should buy a violin that has a one piece back or one that has a two piece back. Well, there is no right answer for this concern. In my opinion, it is exclusively a matter of personal preference. The one piece back violins are very much appreciated for their visual impact. Also, they are rarer, which is another factor that matters in some people’s eyes. From a playability and performance point of view, there is no difference between the one piece back and the two piece back violins. The one piece back violins are usually priced higher, but not because they deliver a better performance; just because they are more difficult to find.

Speaking of sound, many people want to know what makes a violin sound good. Well, there are a few elements that contribute to the sound of a violin: the wood, the workmanship, the finishing style, and the set up.
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. The price of a violin should be a reflection of all factors listed above. A higher priced violin should mean a better wood, better workmanship, better finishing style, and better set up, and in the end, a better sound.

By better wood I mean, first of all, a wood with superior resonance properties. The resonance properties of the wood are detected from a very early stage, immediately after the tree is cut down in the forest. Another factor that influences the quality of the wood is the drying up period and technique. The wood used for the higher quality models is dried up naturally, in open air, for a very long time (up to 10 years). This means that the water evaporates very slowly, which prevents the wood from experiencing internal cracks at the molecular level. The wood used for the less expensive instruments is dried up using accelerated methods, which are more aggressive. Again, all this happens at the molecular level, which is not visible with an open eye, but has a great impact on the long term performance of the violins.

The workmanship is also very important. The skill level, the attention to detail, the talent and the dedication of the maker will be reflected in the end product. Almost all violins are hand made, and, consequently, like anything that is human made, they are subject to imperfection. This is why the workmanship is critical.

The finishing style is important, too. This includes the type of varnish, the number of layers, and the technique used. I will discuss this, in more detail, in a future blog posting.

The set up refers to the quality of the accessories that are used (tailpiece, fingerboard, bridge, pegs, sound post, and chinrest) and the work itself (calculating the right string projection on the bridge). You will hear more from me about this in another posting.

Other people want to know whether all instruments that belong to a certain size have the same dimensions, regardless of what violin store they are bought from. It is possible that you will see small variations from a violin to another; these instruments are hand made and they are subject to “imperfections.” I put the word “imperfections” in quotes, because the small size variations are actually not considered imperfections. All dimensions are within an acceptable tolerance range, and they are a matter of millimeters, which do not impact the performance of the instruments in any way. My recommendation is not to pay attention to the dimensions of a violin. If your violin belongs to a standard size (let’s say 4/4) and you feel comfortable playing it, that is all you need to know.