Matthias Klotz (violin maker)

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Monument to Matthias Klotz in Mittenwald
Inscription on the monument
German special postage stamp with the development phases of the snail of a violin

Matthias Klotz (also Mathias Cloz, Khloz, Khlotz; baptized June 11, 1653 in Mittenwald , Upper Bavaria ; † August 16, 1743 ibid) is considered the founder of violin making in Mittenwald.

Life

Matthias Klotz was the second child of the tailor Urban Klotz (Vrbanus Cloz, 1627–1691) and his wife Sophia (d. 1681). He probably received his training in Füssen , and then worked as a journeyman from 1672 to 1678 in the Padua workshop of the Allgäu lute maker Pietro Railich . Nothing is known about his further life until his return to Mittenwald in the 1680s.

Around the turn of the year 1685/1686 Matthias Klotz married the weaver's daughter Maria Seiz in Mittenwald. This first marriage resulted in six children, including the later violin makers Georg I and Sebastian I. After the death of his first wife in 1704, Matthias Klotz married Ursula Schändl, born in 1705. Schlaucher, the widow of the butcher Matthias Schändl. She brought three children into the marriage, including the future violin maker Michael Schändl. Her connection with Matthias Klotz resulted in three more children, including the later violin maker Johann Carol. Matthias Klotz died in 1743 at the age of over 90.

Matthias Klotz trained several violin makers in Mittenwald, including his sons Georg I, Sebastian I and Johann Carol. His son Sebastian I. Klotz became particularly well known . Violin making brought the town a certain level of prosperity after a long period of poverty.

Aegidius Klotz , a son of Sebastian I and grandson of Matthias Klotz, is considered to be the ancestor of the German violin making tradition, as he adopted the model aesthetics of Jakob Stainer , whose violins were more in demand than those of Antonio Stradivari until around 1800 . For other violin makers in the Klotz family, see Klotz violin makers . The violin manufacture still exists today and is in the seventh generation.

Today Mittenwald has a violin making school, a violin making museum and many independent master violin makers. In front of the parish church of St. Peter and Paul there is a monument in honor of Matthias Klotz.

Note: The Dictionary of Violin and Bow Makers by Hugh Reginald Haweis (1838–1911) contains incorrect information about the life dates and relationships of the descendants of Matthias Klotz.

literature

Web links

Commons : Matthias Klotz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Klotz, Matthias
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cloz, Mathias; Kloz; Khloz; Khlotz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Violin maker and founder of violin making in Mittenwald
DATE OF BIRTH baptized June 11, 1653
PLACE OF BIRTH Mittenwald , Upper Bavaria
DATE OF DEATH August 16, 1743
Place of death Mittenwald , Upper Bavaria