cello bow

This Voirin cello bow belonged to the Haarlem musician Henriëtte Kruseman. She was a descendant of the renowned Robert family of musicians from Haarlem. Her mother was a pianist, and Henriëtte’s grandfather, Willem Robert, was, among other things, the conductor of the Royal Toonkunst Men’s Choir “Zang en Vriendschap” in Haarlem. Early in her studies, her father gave her a Thomas Dodd cello. She played this instrument her entire life. It was her dearest wish that the Dodd would continue to be played by a young cellist after her death, and so in 2002—two years before her death—she donated donated the Dodd cello to the Musical Instrument Fund, where it is registered as the “ex-Kruseman cello.” Both of her bows—including this exquisite François Nicolas Voirin (1833–1885) and one of the old Max Möller bows—are now part of the collection of the Musical Instrument Fund. Anna Manthou is the first cellist to play the bow on behalf of the Musical Instrument Fund.