Fritz Reuter & Sons, Inc.

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   Our story starts in 1922, the year our firm was founded in The Hague -- by my grandfather, B. Fritz Reuter (Fritz Reuter, Sr.). Like my own father, my grandfather was -- by all accounts -- a man of many interests. Among these, however, the desire to craft fine violins clearly won out. From 1912 into 1916, he worked as an apprentice under Albert Oskar Krahl, the Master Violin Maker of his home town, Meerane, an industrial center in what was then the Kingdom of Saxony. And, during 1916, the violin makers guild of Markneukirchen, Saxony, certified my grandfather as "Geselle" or journeyman violin maker. At this time, I'd like to stress, he was still a teenager!

    On the professional side, I quickly add, my grandfather went on -- in 1938 -- to earn certification as a Master Violin Maker. The Guild of Violin Makers in Düsseldorf awarded him the title of Meister. B. Fritz Reuter accomplished a great deal. His craft and business practices unfailingly honored the best in guild tradition. It is sad that his life was cut short in 1944, when he became one of the many casualties of the Second World War. But, as a source of guidance and inspiration, his presence and legacy are truly alive in today's FRITZ REUTER & SONS.

    As for his sons, his influence upon them, comes across forcefully in the simple chronology of their lives. After the war had ended, my father Fritz -- and his younger brother, my Uncle Günther   --  applied to the Geigenbauschule or Violin Making School in Mittenwald, Germany. They were admitted (1948) and apprenticed under noted masters, most interestingly, under Andreas Fürst   --  the very Meister under whom I myself studied roughly three decades later. Together, my father and my uncle received the Bachelor's Degree in December of 1951.

    From that point on, the two brothers continued to share basic commitments -- while, simultaneously, some of their interests and concerns started to lead them toward roads which eventually became complementary but different. My father, Fritz Reuter, Jr., kept on working in Mittenwald -- all the while, expanding both his theoretical and practical grasp of the maker's art -- until his 1955 move to the United States. In the U.S., he was engaged by Chicago's William Lewis & Son to serve as a repairman and restorer of fine stringed instruments. Indeed, he held this position from 1955 into 1963 (although there was a two-year interim, 1956-58, due to his military service). Meanwhile, his brother Gunther remained in Europe and there pursued his development as a maker by working under additional masters of world stature. In 1958, while Fritz Reuter was finishing up his U.S. Army days, the Violin Maker's Guild in Munich awarded my uncle the Master's Degree cum laude. He was now, like his father before him, Meister Reuter. Hence it was as a Master that Gunther Reuter, come 1961, joined my father in Chicago. For a few years, both the brothers were employed by Lewis & Son -- and both there carried out repair and restoration work.

    Then 1964 arrived. In this year, having left their positions with William Lewis & Son, my father and my uncle jointly refounded the firm which their own father had established at The Hague in 1922. The name, FRITZ REUTER & SONS, was not chosen casually; Fritz and Gunther were the sons, and their choice publicly memorialized B. Fritz Reuter's life and legacy.

    Each brother was now free to explore the road that seemed most congenial to him, the activities that would build upon his distinctive gifts. My father, Fritz Reuter, Jr., was a long-time member of many professional violin making organizations. Moreover, since 1984 he has been a member of the International Society of Appraisers, Inc., and, since 1991, of the Appraisers Association of America. Having devoted considerable time to restoration and conservation work on fine antique stringed instruments and bows, my father developed a further personal specialty -- a specialty marked by his membership in the appraisers' organizations I just mentioned. He made himself into a recognized expert in the appraisal and certification of stringed instruments and bows, for insurance and probate purposes. He also pushed ahead with his educational commitment. Earlier, in 1971, he had published an informative booklet, HOW TO BUY A VIOLIN. Then, beginning in 1984, he began to issue a unique newsletter, REUTER'S FOCUS REPORT. Why do I call it unique? A few other dealers issue newsletters. But their publications are primarily marketing tools; mostly, they promote the most lucrative "new offerings" they want to sell. In contrast, REUTER'S FOCUS REPORT prints, almost exclusively, in-depth articles that aim to inform its readers -- to help them become knowledgable buyers and owners of musical instruments. Today, my father counts his educational work as his most personal contribution to the services of FRITZ REUTER & SONS.

    Just as the 1964 refounding liberated my father's special interests, it freed my uncle, Günther Reuter, to follow the road illuminated by his ruling passion: the making of new violins. In the more than three decades since, he has distinguished himself over and over, and his production has been phenomenal indeed. But one of the greatest moments of public recognition came in 1982, when his entries in a world-wide competition won him two Gold Medals. A first Gold Medal honored a quartet of instruments for exceptional tonal beauty. In addition, the same quartet's cello won the second Gold Medal for its powers as a solo instrument. As my father often puts it, the quality of Gunther's work -- added to his exceptional productivity -- make him the star of the family.

    I obviously arrived on the scene later. Like my father and uncle, I received a Bachelor's Degree from Mittenwald's Geigenbauschule (mine was awarded in early 1984). I then became part of the family enterprise -- as a maker of new violins, as well as a repairman and restorer -- and, since 1994, I have served as President of the firm.

As professional violin makers and dealers, employees of our firm maintain membership in the following organizations:
***Co-founder American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers, New York, NY, USA***
International Society of Violin and Bow Makers Geneva, Switzerland / since 1971
German Association of Violin and Bow Makers, Stuttgart, Germany / since 1963
Alumni Geigenbauschule, Mittenwald, Germany / Classes of 1951, 1978 and 1984
Appraisers Association of America, Inc., New York, NY, USA / since 1991
International Society of Appraisers, Ltd., Seattle, WA, USA / since 1984
American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers, New York, NY, USA / since 1984
String Industry Council, USA
American String Teachers Association (A.S.T.A)

Professional references to FRITZ REUTER
are to be found in the following dictionaries of violin makers:

• Karel Jalovec, Encyclopedia of Violin-Makers, London/England, Published by Paul Hamlyn LTD. 1968, Volume 2, page 198

• Willibald L. von Lütgendorff, Die Geigen und Lautenmacher, Tutzing/Germany, Published by Hans Schneider, 1990, Volume 3, page 507

• Thomas J. Wenberg, The Violin Makers of the United States, Mt. Hood, or, USA, Published by Mt. Hood Publishing Company, 1986, page 246.

Phone: 847-677-7255
Fax: 847-677-7256