from SCHWEITZER, Johann Baptist Born 1790 Pécs, died 1865 Budapest Hungary. Pupil of F. Geissenhof in Vienna. Active in Pécs from 1822 and established in Budapest by the following year. One of the first makers, like Pressenda in Turin, to adopt the Stradivari model over the Stainer, and to attempt closer emulation of the Cremonese masters. Very influential on the work of all the central European and German schools in the nineteenth century, but this has led to numerous copies being made in the larger German workshops. Pupils and assistants include many important makers of the subsequent generation: G. Lemböck, A. Sitt, J. B. Dvorák, S. Nemessányi and his eventual successor T. Zach. 

15.5 German M1 4707

Our tester said of this viola:  "rich responsive great high end!"