I've decided that I want to become a luthier. Since I'm portuguese and Italy is nearby, I wanted to go and study in Cremona and even started having italian lessons. However, the exams required to enter and attend that school are quite daunting, so I've started to look for alternatives... But I still really want to visit Cremona!!
Keep at it... Italian is another Latin language and many words are similar with different pronunciation. There are definitely lots of other schools around the world.
I was in Japan and a native Japanese said to my friend, "English is very hard", to which my friend replied," No... English is very easy, I learned as a small child." Challenge yourself. You never know your limits until you test them. Parabéns! Muitas felicidades!
Hello from Cremona! Here there are not only violin makers but also luthiers who deal with other instruments, and it is amazing how despite this large number of professionals, there is no shortage of work and the school is internationally recognized. There are students who come from all over the world, from Chile, China, Japan... and some then decide to stay here in Cremona instead of going back to their own country. (small note: footage from 2:18 to 2:27 is not from Cremona)
Thanks. I think my violin teacher may be considering a group trip and this one of the poll options :) I will show her and my fellow classmates the video. Good to see you again :)
Looking at this from a businessman's perspective, I'm thinking "There are 130 violin makers in this city. That means 130 guys beating each others brains out in trying to make a living and pay the rent. " Competition doesn't necessarily at all mean that the consumer would find a better values here. Much more likely the consumer is going to find a small number of very fine makers, and a much larger segment of people who import ( outsource) from places like China and rebrand them to sell here. It's got to be a very tough place to try and make a living.
I think the internet helps at least some of the makers with sales. Another violin maker I follow on UA-cam is Lucas Fabro, who is a violin maker in Cremona, and I don't think his sales come from folks off the street. (A lot of his instruments are by commission.)
I'm curious, do sellers really rebrand Chinese violins in Cremona? 😳 I imagine that the economics of violin-making in Cremona are similar to those of other highly skilled crafts. It's a different economics than pure supply and demand. A lot of international tourists who go to Italy don't go to Cremona, and a lot of those who choose to visit it may be violin enthusiasts but not professionals, and so unlikely to buy the finest violins made there. To make an analogy, the stunning pietra dura (precious stones inlaid in white marble) that adorns the Taj Mahal is still done locally - you can buy a small marble box for $20, or a more finely crafted jewelry/cigar box for $200, or a dining table top for $8,000 (which would cost a few thousand more to ship to Europe or the US). There's a market for pietra dura items at every budget level, and at the high end it's mostly by commission, i.e. almost completely demand-driven, and limited to a handful of the most highly skilled artisans
Makers in Cremona mostly export their violins, sell them over the internet or work on an order-by-order basis. So the situation you're describing doesn't really truly exist as such.
@@alexcarroll9774 I'm glad to hear that. One benefit is that the owner wouldn't need to have a ( very high rent) storefront. I've been a small business owner ( now retired ) and I've seen the consequences of over saturation. Doesn't matter if it's shoes, or jewelry, or instruments. There are only so many people in the market for these goods, and when the supply exceeds the demand, or when the competition reaches a level where cheating becomes the dominant business practice, everyone suffers.
We will be visiting Cremona for a week in May. I will be paying a visit to the tool shop, I may have to give my wife the credit card as I’ll be like a child in a sweet shop. Looking forward to further Cremona videos from yourself. Plus your up coming series of how to make a violin, it will be very informative for us amateur makers. Thank you for taking the time to publish all this UA-cam content, I don’t repair violins but find it fascinating viewing how you manage to reconstruct what to me looks like a car crash. Take care 😊
I'm reminded of the good doctor in "Young Frankenstein." "No matter what I do or say, even if I holler & beg, do NOT open this door!" 😁 "Now honey, here is the card. No matter what I do or say, do NOT give it to me while I'm in this store!" 🤣
Thank you Olaf! It brings back memory of my trip there in 2008. When I was still quite clueless about what to expect. Arrived on a Friday afternoon and trying to see as much as possible before shops are closed. Managed to visit the Stad museum and a few shops, including Stefano Conia, etc. Tried a few violins from different makers, loved them but I didn't have the funds to buy one. So just window shopping but that was quite an experience. :)
Rich history in Cremona for violin makers! The museum must have been amazing! Hope your tools for the string instruments works well! My name is Clara, and I've been playing the violin for fifteen years!
In 2013 I rode from Galiza to Cremona by bicycle, making a bike busking tour. 5K km just to visit the city. And I always make this joke that I rode all the way just to go to a hardware store (yes, Cremona tools 10:00). All the city is such a special place and it changed my vision of the craft at all
Glad to see you again, Olaf. Thank you for sharing, Cremona looks like an awesome city and I’m looking forward to learning about the violin school and museum.
It would be awesome to have more than twenty shops to go to when looking for a new violin. I would have three that I could reach. Imagine just taking a year to select your new violin, trying different ones in different shop every few weeks, making short videos and notes about each one and having that vast selection to choose from to really find the instrument that suits you. When I selected my violin I had about 10 to choose from and only two that I really liked. I do love the one I finally picked, but it would have been fun to just explore what else there might have been in my price range. (Most violins are too loud for me. After test playing those ten violins, I felt dizzy for three weeks. This coincided with my second vaccination so for some time it did not occur to me that these loud violins close to my ear had affected me this way. Every time I left the house, after about 20 minutes, it would feel as if the ground was swaying heavily and I could hardly walk straight.)
I love how you're walking around the streets of Cremona at 10am on a Monday morning and half the shops haven't even opened yet. Must be a very laid-back town. :)
on Monday morning shops (with the exception of shopping centres,which are open 7/7) are closed by law for the compensatory rest of the workers employed on the weekend. nothing to do with the laziness of the inhabitants.
We're all friends here, @@danioa9414. Laid-back means relaxed and easy-going, as opposed to tense or pent-up, it doesn't mean the same thing as lazy. Have a great day!
Handsome as you are, my dear friend, I wanted to see the town, not so much of what you look like! LOL. Your tiny little shots of the actual town are so quick I don't get to REALLY see them well. Love you as I do, I'm hoping next time you go back you'll actually photoshoot the town itself. I do enjoy most all your videos and advice. I just get very frustrated trying to see the town on this video.
Love the Videos. Got a question. Being an English Only Speaking Luthier. Would I be able to Travel/Visit Cremona with all of the Shops /Museum and be able to Enjoy and Interact with the Locals? Thank you
I am a guitarist, but I have always loved the violin, its sound and its beauty, I am even learning to play it. How nice it would be to be able to visit Cremona, it's a shame I live so far away. Good video Olaf, greetings from Argentina. (I have to use the translator because I understand little English hahaha)
Too many fast cuts in editing and please turn on stabilized filming when walking. I was getting seasick. Thank you for the videos. I appreciate the effort.
😆Maybe you're correct. Oh...and btw...Want to really feel dizzy? Try sitting next to a piccolo player in concert. Hmmmm...I wonder if TwoSetViolin has any commentary on that situation. 🙄
I enjoy your videos and I saw this and thought you might enjoy the tone of this violin: ua-cam.com/video/6jXnr493nQI/v-deo.html . Oh, and good for you! Enjoy Cremona! Thanks for sharing!
As a professional violinist and violin enthusiast I cannot fathom why 90 % of this video is of your face on camera! Why did you not show more of Cremona and of the violins in the museum. The clips including violins were tragically short and disjointed. I feel you wasted a good opportunity and ended up with a video about you not about Cremona. I have no wish to offend you but thus is the truth.
This reminds me of a documentary I saw a while ago (don't ask why, I just remembered while watching this): the quest for tonewood. (Original title Jakten på tonetreet.) Would you be interested in reacting to that film? If be very interested to hear what you have to say about it.
I've decided that I want to become a luthier. Since I'm portuguese and Italy is nearby, I wanted to go and study in Cremona and even started having italian lessons. However, the exams required to enter and attend that school are quite daunting, so I've started to look for alternatives... But I still really want to visit Cremona!!
Possibly, . . . beginning in another locale first, would help make the "daunting" more "manageable."
💙 Good Luck! 🎉
Keep at it...
Italian is another Latin language and many words are similar with different pronunciation.
There are definitely lots of other schools around the world.
Go for it!!!😀
I was in Japan and a native Japanese said to my friend, "English is very hard", to which my friend replied," No... English is very easy, I learned as a small child." Challenge yourself. You never know your limits until you test them. Parabéns! Muitas felicidades!
You really should try! This is a lifelong learning process. Get proper lessons elsewhere, and then go and take the exams, pass them, and learn there
Hi Olaf! I’m so excited to see your Cremona Vlog!
Hello from Cremona!
Here there are not only violin makers but also luthiers who deal with other instruments, and it is amazing how despite this large number of professionals, there is no shortage of work and the school is internationally recognized. There are students who come from all over the world, from Chile, China, Japan... and some then decide to stay here in Cremona instead of going back to their own country.
(small note: footage from 2:18 to 2:27 is not from Cremona)
My loved hometown (don't let my nickname fool you, I'm italian😜). Thanks for visiting and for all the nice words. I'm so glad you enjoyed your stay :)
Nice video ,please upload more about your Cremona trip ,Thank you!
Thanks. I think my violin teacher may be considering a group trip and this one of the poll options :) I will show her and my fellow classmates the video. Good to see you again :)
Now I'm curious to see the tools you bought! (I'm more interested in the craftsmanship aspects rather than the finished instruments too)
Thank you Olaf!
I wish we have a violin shop and luthier like you in Guam!
Looking at this from a businessman's perspective, I'm thinking "There are 130 violin makers in this city. That means 130 guys beating each others brains out in trying to make a living and pay the rent. " Competition doesn't necessarily at all mean that the consumer would find a better values here. Much more likely the consumer is going to find a small number of very fine makers, and a much larger segment of people who import ( outsource) from places like China and rebrand them to sell here. It's got to be a very tough place to try and make a living.
I think the internet helps at least some of the makers with sales. Another violin maker I follow on UA-cam is Lucas Fabro, who is a violin maker in Cremona, and I don't think his sales come from folks off the street. (A lot of his instruments are by commission.)
@@elissahunt Well hey, you're here too! 🙂
I'm curious, do sellers really rebrand Chinese violins in Cremona? 😳 I imagine that the economics of violin-making in Cremona are similar to those of other highly skilled crafts. It's a different economics than pure supply and demand. A lot of international tourists who go to Italy don't go to Cremona, and a lot of those who choose to visit it may be violin enthusiasts but not professionals, and so unlikely to buy the finest violins made there. To make an analogy, the stunning pietra dura (precious stones inlaid in white marble) that adorns the Taj Mahal is still done locally - you can buy a small marble box for $20, or a more finely crafted jewelry/cigar box for $200, or a dining table top for $8,000 (which would cost a few thousand more to ship to Europe or the US). There's a market for pietra dura items at every budget level, and at the high end it's mostly by commission, i.e. almost completely demand-driven, and limited to a handful of the most highly skilled artisans
Makers in Cremona mostly export their violins, sell them over the internet or work on an order-by-order basis. So the situation you're describing doesn't really truly exist as such.
@@alexcarroll9774 I'm glad to hear that. One benefit is that the owner wouldn't need to have a ( very high rent) storefront.
I've been a small business owner ( now retired ) and I've seen the consequences of over saturation. Doesn't matter if it's shoes, or jewelry, or instruments. There are only so many people in the market for these goods, and when the supply exceeds the demand, or when the competition reaches a level where cheating becomes the dominant business practice, everyone suffers.
Fascinating.....great chanel
We will be visiting Cremona for a week in May. I will be paying a visit to the tool shop, I may have to give my wife the credit card as I’ll be like a child in a sweet shop. Looking forward to further Cremona videos from yourself. Plus your up coming series of how to make a violin, it will be very informative for us amateur makers. Thank you for taking the time to publish all this UA-cam content, I don’t repair violins but find it fascinating viewing how you manage to reconstruct what to me looks like a car crash. Take care 😊
I'm reminded of the good doctor in "Young Frankenstein."
"No matter what I do or say, even if I holler & beg, do NOT open this door!"
😁 "Now honey, here is the card. No matter what I do or say, do NOT give it to me while I'm in this store!" 🤣
@@randolphfriend8260 That’s very funny I like it 👍 🤣🤣🤣 I might post a video of me in the shop and my wife outside with the card.
enjoyed the video so much,thank you for sharing
Im so Happy that my city now Is on UA-cam. I was Born and i live in Cremona, for every kind of curiosity Just ask.
Can you do a video where you take a violin shaped cake (VLC) and do some work on it to upgrade it from a violin shaped object to a working violin?
🙉 💙
But, . . . But, . . .
what about the coffee?! You know . . . your morning joe. 😋
Much looking forward to those two new videos. 🎉
Hi Olaf. Did you find any good tools for your workshop? (And did you have any good coffees?)
Pleeeaase make a video about your work on the double bass in the background!
This is so exciting to me! My family and I are going to Italy next month and Cremona is one of our stops! Thank you for sharing.
Perfect timing!
Have an amazing time 💕
Great video! How cool that you met some fans over there. I'm looking forward to the museum and school content!
I like the Title Screen! 💙 💙
Welcome home! I'm looking forward to your upcoming videos!
Thank you Olaf! It brings back memory of my trip there in 2008. When I was still quite clueless about what to expect. Arrived on a Friday afternoon and trying to see as much as possible before shops are closed. Managed to visit the Stad museum and a few shops, including Stefano Conia, etc. Tried a few violins from different makers, loved them but I didn't have the funds to buy one. So just window shopping but that was quite an experience. :)
Rich history in Cremona for violin makers! The museum must have been amazing! Hope your tools for the string instruments works well! My name is Clara, and I've been playing the violin for fifteen years!
In 2013 I rode from Galiza to Cremona by bicycle, making a bike busking tour. 5K km just to visit the city. And I always make this joke that I rode all the way just to go to a hardware store (yes, Cremona tools 10:00). All the city is such a special place and it changed my vision of the craft at all
Amazing trip, Olaf! I'm really excited about a video showing all the new tools you got!
The population of Cremona is 71,000. If there are over 130 violin shops, at least 1 in 546 people work as a violin maker!
Glad to see you again, Olaf. Thank you for sharing, Cremona looks like an awesome city and I’m looking forward to learning about the violin school and museum.
I'm from Cremona
It would be awesome to have more than twenty shops to go to when looking for a new violin. I would have three that I could reach. Imagine just taking a year to select your new violin, trying different ones in different shop every few weeks, making short videos and notes about each one and having that vast selection to choose from to really find the instrument that suits you.
When I selected my violin I had about 10 to choose from and only two that I really liked. I do love the one I finally picked, but it would have been fun to just explore what else there might have been in my price range. (Most violins are too loud for me. After test playing those ten violins, I felt dizzy for three weeks. This coincided with my second vaccination so for some time it did not occur to me that these loud violins close to my ear had affected me this way. Every time I left the house, after about 20 minutes, it would feel as if the ground was swaying heavily and I could hardly walk straight.)
Wow I gotta visit!!
Wonderful video.
I love how you're walking around the streets of Cremona at 10am on a Monday morning and half the shops haven't even opened yet. Must be a very laid-back town. :)
Standard for Italy
Yes, and closing for lunch 😀...
Reminds me of me 🤣
@@johnlatchford9425 yes, like the stupidity of certain comments that only reveal ignorance of the commercial rules existing in Italy
on Monday morning shops (with the exception of shopping centres,which are open 7/7) are closed by law for the compensatory rest of the workers employed on the weekend. nothing to do with the laziness of the inhabitants.
We're all friends here, @@danioa9414. Laid-back means relaxed and easy-going, as opposed to tense or pent-up, it doesn't mean the same thing as lazy. Have a great day!
Handsome as you are, my dear friend, I wanted to see the town, not so much of what you look like! LOL. Your tiny little shots of the actual town are so quick I don't get to REALLY see them well. Love you as I do, I'm hoping next time you go back you'll actually photoshoot the town itself. I do enjoy most all your videos and advice. I just get very frustrated trying to see the town on this video.
I thought the same Kathy. And the glimpses of things were so quick I had to keep rewinding or putting the vid in slo-mo!
Yes! 😢
I figured that he thought, all the streets looked the same.
I am so excited for you to have been in Cremona, well done.
Hope you have been to Germany as well. Just as long as you enjoyed!!
Thank you...
I always visit Germany when I'm in Europe... I still have lots of family there.
Love the Videos. Got a question. Being an English Only Speaking Luthier. Would I be able to Travel/Visit Cremona with all of the Shops /Museum and be able to Enjoy and Interact with the Locals?
Thank you
I am a guitarist, but I have always loved the violin, its sound and its beauty, I am even learning to play it. How nice it would be to be able to visit Cremona, it's a shame I live so far away. Good video Olaf, greetings from Argentina.
(I have to use the translator because I understand little English hahaha)
There is a guitar brand named Cremona! I initially knew this city name because of this haha
Olaf @2:18 it's Bologna, isn't it?
Too many fast cuts in editing and please turn on stabilized filming when walking. I was getting seasick. Thank you for the videos. I appreciate the effort.
Olaf, do you SELL any violins? If so, do you have any between 1750 ~ 1820?
Hi, I do.
Best to contact me through my website www.olafgrawertviolinstudio.com
Did you do collabs with youtuber violinmakers Edgar Russ or Lucas Fabro?
Nice. Tell us what tools did you buy? 😄
Please show us the tools you purchased and how they are used.
did you get any tools from Cremona ?
I love you dearly Olaf, but next time you go, take the photos yourself so we can actually "see" what Cremona (or elsewhere) looks like. 🙂
Let's be real: the title is "I visit Cremona - the city of violins" not, "Cremona - the city of violins". So, yes the content fits the title! 🙃
😆Maybe you're correct. Oh...and btw...Want to really feel dizzy? Try sitting next to a piccolo player in concert. Hmmmm...I wonder if TwoSetViolin has any commentary on that situation. 🙄
gosh ,I got dizzy watching and had to end the video. A shame really, I wanted to hear and see the story.
I enjoy your videos and I saw this and thought you might enjoy the tone of this violin: ua-cam.com/video/6jXnr493nQI/v-deo.html . Oh, and good for you! Enjoy Cremona! Thanks for sharing!
As a professional violinist and violin enthusiast I cannot fathom why 90 % of this video is of your face on camera! Why did you not show more of Cremona and of the violins in the museum. The clips including violins were tragically short and disjointed. I feel you wasted a good opportunity and ended up with a video about you not about Cremona. I have no wish to offend you but thus is the truth.
This reminds me of a documentary I saw a while ago (don't ask why, I just remembered while watching this): the quest for tonewood. (Original title Jakten på tonetreet.)
Would you be interested in reacting to that film? If be very interested to hear what you have to say about it.