Kaspar pankow, bow maker in Zurich (CH)

After initial training as a violin maker in Cremona Kaspar Pankow learned bow making in the West Dean workshops (Sussex, England) from 2006 to the present, under the guidance of Tim Baker and Derek Wilson. He has also attended all the Oberlin bow making workshops (Ohio, USA) since 2011 where he has worked alongside some of the best contemporary makers.

For ten years Kaspar worked in London in the workshop of Florian Leonhard where he restored old bows and did some new making. There he had the opportunity to study and document many fine examples, mainly of the French and English schools, which has greatly informed his work.

Kaspar takes great care in selecting high quality pernambuco. This, in combination with the taper and camber of the stick, is the key to making a bow with excellent playing and sound qualities.

His bows are handcrafted according to traditional working methods. He takes inspiration from the great Parisian bow makers of the first half of the 19th century such as F. X. Tourte, Jacob Eury, Jean Pierre Marie Persoit and in particular, Dominique Peccatte.

In 2015, Kaspar moved to Switzerland where he now has his own workshop.

Member of the Swiss Violin and Bow Maker Association (SVGB), British Violin Making Association (BVMA) and the Violin Society of America (VSA).

PRIZES

1st prize awarded by the playing jury and two certificates of excellence for workmanship at the Concours International Dominique Peccatte 1ere Edition, 2016.

EXHIBITIONS

2016 Amsterdam; 2017 + 2018 Contemporary Violin and Bow Makers Exhibition, New York; 2018 Strings Attached, Bern; 2019 BVMA Maker’s Day, London.

www.pankowbows.com