Pierre Lindström

Strandvägen 25
791 42 Falun
Telephone: 070-30 50 460
E-post: pierre@lindstrom-violin.com
Hemsida: www.lindstrom-violin.com

Swedish maker Pierre Lindström was born into a family of folk musicians, woodworkers and artists, and he has played the violin since he was a child. In his late teens he decided he needed a better violin, and since he couldn’t afford a new instrument, he bought a broken one and started repairing it with the help of a local luthier in his home town of Falun. ‘That’s how I became hooked!’ he recalls. It was during Lindström’s second year at the Leksand violin making school in Sweden that he met luthier Sam Zygmuntowicz. ‘He’s been my mentor ever since,’ explains Lindström, and the young maker now spends several months each year working with Zygmuntowicz in his New York studio. ‘He has opened my eyes to making and has meant everything to my development.’ In 2000 Lindström set up a workshop in Falun. He continues to make copies of the Stradivari and Guarneri models that he studied in New York.

‘For me, modern lutherie is about making perfect copies of 18th-century “golden era” masterpieces,’ he says. ‘I’m currently focusing on Stradivari’s late-period models, which compared with those from his other periods have higher and fuller arches with different graduations, giving the instruments a deeper and darker yet brilliant voice.’

He handpicks the wood for each instrument, ensuring that its grain, flame, structure and texture match the original. ‘When you copy a late Stradivari, you work with wood that has a different texture and density to what you would use for a low-arched Guarneri model,’ he explains. Lindström’s instruments are played in Scandinavian orchestras and at the Juilliard School. He insists that he still has a lifetime of discovery ahead. ‘Studying so many great instruments, the antiquing process, and learning about acoustics all fascinate me,’ he says. ‘But you wonder if you have enough time to get through it all!’

Sarah Mnatzaganian The Strad Magazine