Lutherie
MY SPACE
LUTHIER GERTRUD REUTER
A peek into lutherie workshops around the world
LOCATION Basel, Switzerland
I’ve been working in this shop since 1988, but I’ve only been the manager for the past two years. Before that, it was owned by Roland Baumgartner, who’d been working there for almost five decades.
I started working with him soon after I finished studying at the Mittenwald Violin Making School, and apart from a little time spent with other makers in Germany and Switzerland, I’ve been here ever since. Roland finally decided to retire from instrument making and restoration in 2019, although he still comes in to assess, evaluate and appraise instruments, and issue certificates. So the shop now includes my own paraphernalia and a lot that I inherited from Roland; for instance, the showroom contains furniture from the Paris firms of Caressa & Français, Maucotel &