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Wilhelm Paul Kunze

*1875 , Markneukirchen      †1957 , Den Haag

Wilhelm Paul Kunze (Paul) was born in Markneukirchen in 1875. There, between 1889 and 1892, he learned the craft of violin making in one of the many workshops in that city. After working in Leipzig for half a year, he left for Amsterdam in late 1892, where he worked as a repairer first at Hampe until 1896 and then, later that year, for the brothers Jan Warnaar and Gerrit Kok. Jan Warnaar made stringed instruments in the traditional Dutch style, while Gerrit developed into an internationally renowned expert on period instruments and a restorer.

As early as 1848, the brothers had been working as “Luthiers de la Conservatoire d’Amsterdam.” Paul was regarded by the Kok brothers as an outstanding craftsman. He learned from the great instruments that the firm received for repair by analyzing them with almost fanatical precision and systematic rigor. He continued to do this for most of his life in order to gain insight into how he could influence the sound. It was this almost scientific approach that ultimately enabled him to build instruments with a consistent, reproducible sound.
Workshop(s)
Leipzig, 1892-1892
Amsterdam, 1892-1904
Den Haag, 1904-1957

Paul Kunze worked at the Kok firm until Gerrit Kok died in 1899. The eldest of the brothers, Johan Warnaar, had already died in 1889. After Gerrit’s death, the company continued under the leadership of Gerrit’s widow. She was assisted by Paul Kunze, who had married their daughter shortly after Gerrit’s death. In 1902, Paul established himself as an independent violin maker in Amsterdam, but moved to The Hague in 1904. Paul Kunze was a rather independent but highly productive maker. As far as is known, only the violin maker Joseph Vedral worked with Paul Kunze from 1905 to 1907. Paul Kunze continued to work in The Hague until his death in 1957.

Work and Influence

In his early days, Paul Kunze made instruments modeled after Stradivarius and Guarneri, but after careful research, he also designed his own model. This differed not only in its proportions from the instruments he had previously copied, but also in terms of finish. A key factor in this was a new impregnation method he had developed. He would immerse instruments that were still “unfinished” in a mineral-based liquid. This improved the sound and gave the instrument a beautiful, translucent appearance. He sent the first violin he built using this method to the international violin-making competition “Le Monde Musical” in Paris in 1912. There, he won first prize for its sound and finish. Later, in 1930, he exhibited a violin at the Exposition de Liège. There, too, he received an award for his entry. Beginning in 1912, Paul Kunze impregnated all his new instruments.

The violins and cello in the collection of the Musical Instrument Fund date from after that period. For this reason, it is reasonable to assume that the instruments in the fund’s collection were also built in this manner.

In 1949, Paul Kunze was one of the founders of the Dutch Group of Violin Makers.

Sources

amati.com, creators archive. Accessed in 2019.

Balfoort, D. J. (1931), Dutch Violin Makers, The Hague.

Blok, P. J., Molhuysen, P. C. (1912), *Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek*, The Hague.

Bolink, J., Giskes, J., Lindeman, F., & Stam, S. (1999), 400 Years of Violin Making in the Netherlands, Amsterdam.

Vannes, R. (1951) Universal Dictionary of Instrument Makers, Spa.

Haags Dagblad, Interview with Paul Kunze (no date, no location).

Couturier, L. (1947). *On the Violin, Its Makers, and Virtuosos*.

Auteur
Jan Boekhout
Date
26 February 2019

Given on loan