EDUARD SITJAS BONET
Luthier
I was born in Palafrugell, 1985, my family being in the tailor trade since 1898. There was always classical music in my grandfather’s shop record player, and my father passed on the passion for good music and the taste for sound quality.
I remember, from very young, Beethoven Concert for violin in D Major while playing and toying around my grandfather’s shop and my uncle’s woodturning lathe.
A trip to Barcelona in 1997 was the turning point in my life. Accompanied by my father, and being a violin student, I entered the workshop of Xavier Vidal looking for a new violin. The artisan atmosphere of the place, a true oasis in Elisabets Street, captivated me.
In 2004, just after finishing high school, and already with the firm decision of becoming a luthier, I began working as an aprentice precisely in that very same place.
There, under the tutelage of Master Eduard Bosque, I learnt to do high quality setup work on instruments being restored and to discover my own idea of sound, before starting carving fronts, backs and scrolls.
In 2006 I moved to England to study at the prestigious Newark School of Volin Making, where I graduated with Merit in 2009.
Soon after I did a work experience with Serge Boyer in Paris and another one in Florian Leonhard‘s prestigious London workshop, world reference of restoration.
In 2010 I came back to Girona to open a shared workshop with Alexis de Pauw, and in 2012 I stablished on my own studio, where I build and restore violins, violas and celli, and colaborate with luthier friends as David Bagué and Jose Catoira.
I have also done short workshop placements in Cremona to assist expert Mathijs A. Heyligers and to deepen my knowledge of baroque instrument making and high end restoration. I am focused in the antiqued copying of Masterpieces of the XVII and XVIII century, no doubt in high demand by professional musicians.
I am also an expert in setup and sound adjustment of bowed instruments, both modern and baroque, aspect that I believe of atmost importance to optimize sound quality and player’s comfort.
From my workshop in Girona, in the Onyar River houses, I am fully focused on classical lutherie, both making and restoring, and returning of instruments to original baroque setup.
Member of GLAE.