René Morel

René Morel (2004)

René A. Morel (born March 11, 1932 in Mattaincourt ; † November 16, 2011 in Wayne / New Jersey ) was a French-American violin maker.

Morel came from a family of violin makers on both his mother's and father's side, whose tradition can be traced back to the 18th century. He was introduced to the beginnings of violin making by his grandfather before he began his apprenticeship with a cousin at the age of twelve. He then worked with Amédée Dieudonne in Mirecourt and with Marius Didier and Bossard Bonnel in Rennes, where he made two violins every week.

After serving in the French Air Force , he went to Chicago in the early 1950s, where he worked for Kagan and Gaines . From 1955 he worked with Simone F. Sacconi at Rembert Wurlitzer . He opened his own workshop in 1964 at Jacques Français , Rare Violins Inc. , from 1994 under the name René A. Morel Rare Violins . From 2008 until his death he worked with the Tarisio company.

Morel was considered an outstanding restorer and musicians like Mischa Elman , Isaac Stern , Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman , Pablo Casals and Yo-Yo Ma had their instruments serviced by him. His major restoration work includes a. the decoration of the cello Marylebone by Stradivari based on the model of the master’s only ornate cello in the possession of the Prado Museum. The order for this was placed by the publishing magnate Herbert Axelrod . The two-year restoration of Bernard Greenhouse's cello Countess of Stanlein , a Stradivarius instrument from 1707, was the subject of Nicholas Delbanco's book The Countess of Stanlein Restored (2001). Morell died of cancer in 2011.

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personal data
SURNAME	Morel, René
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Morel, René A.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	French-American violin maker
DATE OF BIRTH	March 11, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH	Mattaincourt
DATE OF DEATH	November 16, 2011
Place of death	Wayne (New Jersey)