About us
Petr Rácz
Master violin maker
I was born in Luby, a small town in West Bohemia with a rich tradition of violin making. Already in my childhood I liked to watch my grandfather, who loved working with wood. By the time my interest in the various carving methods and wood working was ever greater. My grandfather was very skilled and taught me a lot. This eventually led me to building musical instruments, which I decided to study after finishing primary school. I successfully completed the violin school under the guidance of Karel Zadražil and Emil Lupac - master violin makers - as the best graduate of the class. I have the first instrument I made as a student displayed at home and every time I look at it, I am proud of what I accomplished.
Since 1994 I have been building masterful instruments under my own name that have taken root almost all over the world. I honed my violin making skills with the help of master violin makers Jan Poetzel, Arpad Šivak, Michael van Berkum and Eduard Schwen.
Participation in various violin competitions, for example in Mittenwald Germany, Cremona Italy, as well as at home in Náchod and Prague, brought me many other great experiences that enriched me greatly and allowed me to further develop my art in this craft.
I have always consulted the tonal quality of my violins, violas and cellos with professors of the Prague Conservatory and members of the Dvořák Quartet. Many young and talented musicians such as Anna Skálová, Jan Macečko, Jakub Junek and Markéta Dominikuso play the instruments that have remained in our wonderful Bohemia.
In 2008 I successfully passed the master exams and became a member of the Circle of Violin Artists.
In 2009 - 2012 I donated instruments to the Václav Hudeček Violin Academy in Luhačovice for the best student, who was announced at the final Gala Concert after the fortnight-long violin courses. It is a great feeling because nothing fulfils you more than being able to make someone very happy.
For my contribution in the field of music and for doing a quality job as an artist, the Word Society Corporation chose me in 2012 and included me in their encyclopedia of personalities, 'Who is Who'.
2014 was a pivotal year. At the International Violin Competition in Moscow, my two instruments placed an amazing third and fourth in the "Imitation of Old Instruments" category. In the same year I participated in the Tone Plays in Cheb, the third place for the tonal quality of the instruments was another great success and in the same year I won the competition "Tradesman of the Year 2014".
Throughout my career so far I have also been cooperating with the important German company Streichinstrumente Berndt&Marx OHG.
I build the master instruments by hand according to old technologies together with my son, who follows me in this field very well. The top, bottom and neck are completely hand-finished. For the instruments we use 30 years old naturally dried material such as Italian spruce and Bosnian maple, which we choose ourselves.
The varnish is mixed according to a 100-year-old Italian recipe using purely natural resins. For the construction of violins I use mainly Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu models, but of course there is no problem to build other models on request.
To make an instrument that someone will enjoy playing and pass on that joy is the greatest satisfaction, which is truly fulfilling and one knows that one day there will be something beautiful with one's name on it.
Yours Petr Rácz
Michal Rácz
master violin maker
I was born in Luby as the first-born son of Petr Rácz and I have been following in his footsteps from an early age. As a little boy I was always interested in what my father was doing in the workshop. I didn't move from there as long as he was there. I was under his feet and in the way of his tools. In my childhood eyes, I knew I wanted to do this craft too. At first, like almost every kid I guess, I started building model boats and cars out of wood, and over time my dad finally let me work on the violin. At the age of 11 I built my first instrument, which I still have as a memento.
After finishing primary school, I did not hesitate and immediately applied to the violin school in Cheb. There I studied as the best student of the year and that is why in 2011 the Schola Ludus Foundation awarded me for outstanding results in my studies.
In 2013 I received a very interesting offer to participate in a foreign internship in Anchorage, USA. I was given some time to think whether I wanted to participate in the internship or not, but I didn't need it at all. I decided immediately that I could not miss this opportunity. After all, an opportunity like this only comes once in a lifetime. And so, at the age of seventeen, I went to America alone for three months. Without much knowledge of the language, first plane flight, I didn't know anyone there, but everything went very well and I returned to Anchorage for the next three years. I gained a lot of new knowledge and experience there for building and restoring stringed musical instruments. I even sold some of my instruments there.
From America the quality of my instruments spread all over the world and so a few of them settled in Asia and also in Central Europe. Here in the Czech Republic, a talented young violinist Miriam Magdaléna Haniková fell in love with my instrument and can't get enough of it.
I also took part in an international violin competition in Prague. I had no great expectations. After all, I, such a young ear among the masters of this field from all over the world. Nevertheless, I left the competition with great pleasure. The recognition from the violin-making capacities for a job well done was more than gratifying. I also had great success at the Violin Showcase , where I came a beautiful 2nd place the first year and 3rd place a year later.
In 2016 I also started working with the important German company Berndt&Marx OHG. Participating in their production technology also gave me a huge experience which is priceless.
My master violin I build exclusively by hand by technology of old masters and under the lead of my father, who is a great guide for me. For their construction I mostly use models by A.Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesú or Domenico Montagnana. The top, bottom and neck are completely hand-made without the use of any modern technology or machines. In our workshop we use 30 year old, naturally dried material for our master violins. We choose the best resonance wood ourselves and, as is already known, we use mostly Italian spruce and Bosnian maple for the production of stringed musical instruments. We also mix our own varnish according to a hundred year old Italian recipe using purely natural resins. The creativity in this craft never ceases to amaze me. I have to learn new things over and over again.
I make instruments that make someone happy and those musicians, thanks to my instruments, continue to make their listeners happy. I create something that has a head and a heel, and that fulfills me inside. I'm glad that I can leave behind instruments that bear my name.
Yours Michal Rácz
History of violin making in Luby
The beginnings of violin making in Luby ( Schönbach ) date back to the first half of the 17th century. The oldest surviving instrument is a viola by Johann Adam Pöpel dated 1664. J.A. Pöpel was the first known violin maker in Luby and the founder of the violin makers' guild in Markneukirchen.
In the 18th century more than 40 violin makers worked in Luby. At that time the so-called Schönbach (Luby) violin-making school was founded by the violin-making families of Placht, Sandner and Hoyer.
In the first half of the 19th century, manufactures began to grow here, which cast a bad light on the production of master instruments and pushed it into the background, but the production of master instruments never completely ended.
In the summer of 1926, a violin maker's monument was unveiled, which pays tribute to all the unknown violin makers and musical instrument makers who contributed to the development of this craft in Luby area.
After the Second World War, most of the German violin makers returned to their homeland, where they set up new workshops. Schönbach was renamed Luby.
In 1948 the manufactories were nationalised and united into a large company called Cremona, under which the master violin makers had to work.
In 1989 Cremona was privatised and renamed Strunal. Again, small manufactories are created and master violin makers become independent.
In conclusion, this short and simple list cannot fully cover the entire, much richer history of violin making in Lubsko.
