Baumgartner has been a well-known name in violin making circles for more than 100 years. Grandfather Fritz Baumgartner senior opened his business in Basel in 1920, followed later by his son, Fritz Baumgartner junior, who in turn initiated his own two sons, Roland and Michael Baumgartner, in the art of violin making.
Roland Baumgartner realised early that Switzerland could only offer a limited field and it was this reason that induced him to seek professional contacts abroad. Trips to France, England, Germany, Italy and the USA – sometimes just on a brief visit, sometimes for a much longer stay – enabled him to broaden his expertise and gain experience to such an extent that by 1974, he was able to set up his own business, the Atelier Roland Baumgartner, in Basel.
During the last decades the company was specialised in the repair, restoration and sales of stringed instruments and bows. Roland Baumgartner's certificates of authenticity are recognised worldwide, as are his oral and written instrument appraisals and valuations, whether for commercial, institutions, private or for insurance purposes. He has written and co-authored a number of publications on violin making and is very much in demand as a speaker at conferences on the subject. He is frequently invited to participate as judge at international violin making competitions in Cremona, Paris, Freiburg, Mittenwald and the USA and was a member of the Comitato d'Honore for the Stradivari Exhibition in Cremona in 1987. As the successor to Andrew Hill, W.E. Hill, London, he has been nominated since the beginning of 2024 as the official instrument advisor from the Nippon Music Foundation (NMF) in Tokyo and, among other things, he checks the condition of all the foundation's instruments once a year, monitoring the condition of each instrument. In addition to providing expert advice for various other international exhibitions, he is on many occasions serving, both as an expert for the courts and as an appraiser for insurance companies both in Switzerland and abroad. As an Honorary Member of the International Society of Violin and Bow Makers (EILA) – of which he was President from 1991 to 1993 –, and of the Violin Society of America, he keeps in touch with experienced colleagues from all over the world, this being essential not only to his own professional development, but also to the pooling of experience and expertise.
After more than 50 years of professional activity, from spring 2019 Roland Baumgartner will concentrate on consulting, expert advice, appraisals, valuations and certificates. For appointments please contact master violin-maker Gertrud Reuter.
As an important and competent assistant during over 30 years she opened now her own workshop at the same address. She is also your contact for all others violinmaking, -repairing, - renting etc. questions. For all further information please visit her website www.geigenbau-reuter.ch