Violin Maker
Marten Cornelissen
deceased
Dutch violin maker Marten Cornelissen has died at the age of 85. He lived and worked in the United States for 55 years and enjoyed great international renown.
Medals
As a boy, Marten Cornelissen (August 30, 1936, Apeldoorn) wanted to become an aircraft builder. With great enthusiasm, he built countless model airplanes. But when he first picked up a violin at age sixteen, a new passion was ignited within him. He purchased the (undoubtedly, for him) expensive book *em* *Die Kunst des Geigenbaues* */em* by Otto Möckel and, using it as a guide, began building his first instruments. Even in those early days, his work did not go unnoticed. A number of professional musicians became very interested in and charmed by his instruments. In 1963, he met the Czech violin maker Vladimir Pilar, who invited him to come work with him for a while. Shortly thereafter, in 1966, Marten Cornelissen participated in the Concours international de quatuor, lutherie et sonorité in Liège, where he won a silver and a gold medal for his string quartet.
versus
A special encounter around that same time marked a major turning point in his career: the famous violist Ernst Wallfisch was giving a concert in Apeldoorn. Cornelissen and Wallfisch met after the concert, and the violist insisted that Cornelissen come to Northampton, Massachusetts (U.S.), because there was a great need for a skilled violin maker there. Since Marten was already engaged to an American woman, the decision was quickly made, and he left for the United States in late 1966. Cornelissen ultimately worked there for 55 years as an independent violin maker. Marten Cornelissen passed away on November 13, 2021. During his lifetime, he built approximately 600 violins, violas, and cellos. The Musical Instrument Fund owns three violins and one viola by Marten Cornelissen.