Viktor Koos

Luthier

The conscious design of sound

Viktor's instruments recreate a centuries-old sound
He remains faithful to the oldest traditions of instrument making
He has clients from early music orchestras all around the world

Viktor Koós has been obsessed with making period string instruments since the age of just 17. “As soon as I saw a film about Antonio Stradivari, I immediately knew this was what I had to do. It really happened from one moment to the next,” he says in his softly spoken voice. But before he could get to work, he needed a solid grounding in the art of instrument making, so he completed a course in early string musical instruments at West Dean College in the UK in 2004. “Making period instruments really is an art form. You have to know the foundations of your craft and the history of early music,” he explains. Viktor's workshop is in the small village of Tinnye, just outside Budapest.

Interview

How would you define what you do?: I make string instruments – violins, cellos and viols – for musicians who play in early music orchestras and advanced amateurs. I generally work to order, so I maintain a close relationship with my clients around the world.
What specific techniques did you need to master to start?: Crafting period instruments is slightly different to the challenge of making modern violins and cellos. The idea is to recreate the sound produced by orchestras 300 or more years ago. That requires a knowledge of the history, a lot of time spent with musicians, but most importantly a never-ending passion for instrument-making.
What does well made mean to you?: It is important to have solid foundations. You need to know how to work and shape the wood to an exceptional standard. The essence in this craft comes above this level, where tone and personality are all that matters. When you reach this level, you have endless freedom to create.
What was your proudest moment?: I was commissioned to make a baroque cello for the Haute École de Musique of Genève in 2016. In that same year, Bruno Cocset, one of the greatest baroque cello players in the world, came to Hungary to perform Bach’s cello suites. Earlier in the year, he had asked me if he could play the cello I was currently making. I was just putting the strings on as his plane landed. He played it for the first time the next night and it was an amazing performance. The cello was just one day old.

Viktor Koos is a master artisan: he began his career in 1998 and he started teaching in 2010