Truly the cradle of classical music, Central and Eastern Europe was once known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and includes today's Austria, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Poland. Our makers have significant international reputation, their instruments and bows have won awards for workmanship and tone and are played by many of the world's leading chamber musicians, solo artists and orchestral musicians.

Luthiers have been hand-crafting instruments and bows in this region for hundreds of years and distinct and important national and regional schools have evolved. The wood from this area (especially from Bosnia, the Dolomites in northeastern Italy and southern Austria, and the Carpathian and Tatra mountains in Slovakia, Romania and Poland), has long been prized, even by the great Italian makers,  for its desirability for stringed instruments. Makers from the former Communist countries routinely studied and copied the great Cremonese instruments of Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati and others, held in collections in Moscow.

Because of today's currency situation, and the current historic changes, Blue Danube Violins can bring these exceptional instruments and bows to you at very attractive prices. We also offer outstanding instrument cases from the Czech Republic, Poland and Asia as well as a few fine classical guitars.

A violinist himself, Anthony Armoré, together with leading concertmasters and soloists from the region, plays and hand-selects each instrument or bow before acquiring it for our customers. Many of our instruments are prize-winners (especially for tone) in competitions organized in these countries. Mr. Armoré frequently conducts professional orchestras in Europe and his discussions with string players and other artists lead him to the best makers. Each instrument and bow is evaluated for quality of tone, workmanship and value. This is also true for our student and intermediate-line items.

ANTIQUE OR MODERN INSTRUMENTS?

Fine antique instruments and bows, whether old Italian instruments or bows from the greatest French masters, are rare and extremely expensive. Players (or their families) are faced with a major decision -- should they spend a life's savings on an antique instrument or bow, or select modern work? The controversy rages - can a modern instrument or bow compare in quality to the work of the great makers of the past? Please read the following article from the New York Times on this topic.

Best of all, their work can be acquired less expensively than older instruments and bows, resulting in substantial savings for you.