David Bagué

David Bagué receives the Creu de Sant Jordi Prize from Jordi Pujol .

David Bagué i Soler (* 1964 in Barcelona ) is a Spanish violin maker . He lives and works in Gràcia , the bohemian district of Barcelona.

The relationship with string instruments developed in early childhood, especially through his father, a cabinet maker . David built his first violin in self-study when he was 12 years old . He learned violin making professionally in Italy - especially in Cremona , the "Mecca" of musical instrument making, where he then spent a long time in the studio of Mathijs Adriaan Heyligers .

The artist, nicknamed "lo spagnoletto", is considered a pioneer of contemporary Luthiers in Spain . Bague is also President of the Gremio de Luthiers y Arqueros de España (GLAE) and an employee of the Barcelona Music Museum .

In an interview for Wiener Zeitung in 2014, he described himself as an artisan and mentioned that he needed around four months to build a violin. Nevertheless, he has a waiting list of over two years.

"Giving the instruments a soul"

Below are some excerpts from the interview.

"As an example of the human ability to create something with a soul , I would like to mention a Ferrari . Nobody leaves a Ferrari indifferent . Just as one is not indifferent to a Stradivarius or a Pietà by Michelangelo . This tendency towards perfectionism , which [. .] that can still be found today is a humanistic attitude that allows people to give their best. A Ferrari is a grandiose work of art, full of technology, but also full of art. "

" Cremona has been the Mecca for every violin maker since the 16th century. In the 18th century, Cremona became the epicenter of the golden age of violin makers, thanks to artists such as Amati , Guarneri and Stradivari. This connection with the past can still be seen there today . "
"I came to Cremona for the first time when I was 17. That was [..] above all an emotional shock [..] an experience that still connects me strongly with this city, like an umbilical cord "

Regarding career choice: "I didn't find violin making, but it found me when I was very young. I come from a working-class family , even though my grandparents were artisans. They already knew how to deal with wood ." The moment Bagué decided to build instruments, he had "a feeling of revelation: I would devote my whole life to the construction of these beautiful objects!"

Mentors and exclusivity

He met Ruggiero Ricci as his most important mentor : "At that time Ricci was at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and almost at the end of his career. Nevertheless, I was able to work with him for a good 20 years [...] and also with the world-famous violinist Leonidas Kavakos . And me I have - together with the violin makers Stephen Peter Grainer and Florian Leonhart - the honor that Master Kavakos calls our instruments his own. "

"It is extraordinary that in today's fast-paced world there are still people who care about something produced exclusively for them ... even though they know they will have to wait a long time because my work cannot be done in a rush. The customer and I create something together that doesn't yet exist. It is an act of faith and cannot be compared to anything else. "

Movies

• Silvia Cachafeiro (2014): The violin maker . Report, Servus TV (TM Wissen), February 9, 2014, 10 min.

swell

• Martin Zinggl & Silvia Cachafeiro: A sensitivity for beauty . Wiener Zeitung Extra, 14./15. June 2014, p. 34-35.