Klotz (violin Makers)

Klotz (violin Makers)

Klotz is a family of violin makers. Members of the Klotz (or Kloz) family have made violins in Mittenwald, Germany from the mid-17th century to the present. The Klotz family taught other families of the village the violin trade, and Mittenwald prospered and became well-known for its violins. In A Dictionary of Music and Musicians 1900, the contributor Edward John Payne writes: "Nine-tenths of the violins which pass in the world as 'Stainers' were made by the Klotz family and their followers." In 1856, the Bavarian government founded a school in Mittenwald to continue the violin trade. Dictionaries of violin makers list more than 25 artisans by this name.

Matthias I (1656–1743) founded the Mittenwald school of violin making after study with Jacob Stainer and Nicolo Amati. He has been criticized for exercising insufficient skill or care in the selection of his wood. Typical labels:

• Mattias Klotz Geigenmacher zu Mittenwald an der Iser 1697
• Mathias Klotz Lauten und Geigenmacher in Mittenwald an der Iser Anno 1695
• Mathias Kloz Lautenmacher. A label of the family in Mittenwalt Anno 1725.

Instruments by Sebastian I (1696–1768) are probably the most admired among the many existing examples by this family. Some instruments which have been identified as Sebastian's work bear his father's label. Typical labels:

• Sebastian Klotz in Mittenwald an der Iser 1734
• Sebastian Kloz, in Mittenwald, an 1743
• Seb. G. Kloz in Mittenwald, 1732

Joseph (1743–1819), son of Sebastian, worked in a manner similar to that of his father.

The quality of their instruments varies enormously, and many inferior, unauthentic examples have labels bearing the Klotz name.