Florian Leonhard (born 1963 in Düsseldorf) is a German-born, London-based violin maker, dealer, restorer and expert.Pithers, Ellie (4 April 2014). "The world of violin maker Florian Leonhard". The Telegraph. Florian has dedicated his life to studying, restoring and making violins. After studying in at Mittenwald School of Violin Making, he worked for W.E. Hill & Sons becoming head restorer.
Career His firm, Florian Leonhard Fine Violins, has restored and supplied instruments by Stradivarius and the Guarnerius family for renowned players including Leonidas Kavakos, Daniel Hope, Julian Lloyd Webber and Alina Ibragimova as well as to competition winners.Faires, Robert (4 March 2014). "Your Menuhin Winners: Fukuda, Waarts take first in young violinist competition". The Austin Chronicle.
Florian Leonhard has appeared on BBC, CNBC,"Alternative Investing - Violins". CNBC. 7 December 2010. and in The Economist,"From tree to concert hall: The sweet sound of nightingales". The Economist. 17 December 2009. on subjects relating to investment in instrumentsBowers, Simon (25 March 2008). "Trader sees profit in violinists playing beyond their means". The Guardian.Campbell, R. A. J. (2008). "Fine violins as an alternative investment: Strings attached?" . Pensions: An International Journal. 13.1: 89-96.Caplan, Jeremy (10 June 2009). "The Stradivarius Hedge: Investors Look to High-End Violins". Time. and their preservation. The Daily Telegraph described him as "the world´s leading expert on fine violins" and the as Financial Times a "world-leading authority on fine violins". He was a jury member at the Benjamin Britten, Karol Lipinski, Henryk Wieniawski and George Enescu violin competitions.. He was on the jury of the 2012 Israeli Music Competition and Ernest Bloch Music Competition. He is a regular contributor to books and articles and has published the book, The Makers of Central Italy. Florian is also president of the Pisogne Making Competition in Cremona.
Publications
The Makers of Central Italy: Marche and Umbria, Fantigrafica 2011; Olwell, Greg (March 2012). "The Makers of Central Italy: A new book by a noted violin maker and dealer covers an under-appreciated region of Italy". Ein Bildband zum 200. Geburtstag von Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. Bocholt 1998; (with Stefan-Peter Greiner)
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