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Coming soon!

The 3rd Cuvée Darling Cologne will take place 18 + 19 May 2024!

20 + 21 Mai 2023

After last year´s succesful Cologne Expo we are happy to present this year the 2nd Cologne Expo on the weekend 20 + 21 May at the spectacular Eigelsteintorburg.

27 Mai 2021

For the loyal fans: Finally another book by Darling Publications!

Coming soon!

Andy Lim was not lazy during the Corona year 2020-2021
  1. Andy lost 16 (!) kilos in a slow but steady diet since the last Cremona Expo 2019. So what has this to do with the „New Books“?. Nothing, but just news being not lazy…

2. Anton Somers, the violinmaker from Antwerp (Belgium, the country squeezed between The Netherlands and France) was not lazy either and created a Quartet. And what for a Quartet! A quartet with whalebone purflings. Of course, fully CITES certified and probably the only contemporary maker since very, very long time to be able or asked to do that! So, what has this to do with “New Books“? A lot! Because Darling Publications is proud to present this most beautiful Quartet of Instruments of the Violin Family, the DARLING BALEINE CORONA QUARTET in the new publication:

ANTON SOMERS

Violinmaker in Antwerp
22 instruments 2012-2021.

It is only the 2nd Monography of a living Violinmaker since in 2011 Nicolas Gilles inspired the publisher to make the first. So Nicolas Gilles, now matured as Violinmaker and even in Personal Appearance for those who knows him bit longer wrote the preface and will be personally at the Book launch together with the Quartet 18 June in Brussels at Atelier Flagey. Soon printing, so here a peep and glimpse at the proof before it gets serious.

Very curious at the final result in the book!

By the way, At the book launch the book will be accompanied by a Micro Exhibition, as although planned as a two-man show with Anton Somers-violinmaker and Victor Bernard-bowmaker, the word spread despite Corona lockdown in Brussels. The result is that from the intended two-man show as Guests of Honour we can welcome Nicolas Gilles from Villeneuvette (near Montpellier) and Emmanuel Carlier from Paris with their latest work too! But last but not least: As Co-hosts of Honour the Good Flagey Ghosts Blaise Emmelin and Joanne Van Bosterhaut are the dots on the „i“ from Atelier Flagey and will surprise us with their latest stuff too! Seems that Eric Fournier is trying to come too, great company and every time happy to meet him, with or without his latest bow. So, inevitable with Cuvée Darling Expos as always, things get sneakily bigger, from micro to semi-micro…

12 April 2020

Cuvée Darling Frankfurt 2020

This will be the additional embossing on the Book remembring the cancelled Cuvée Darling Exhibition 2020. As the print was in process, it could not be cancelled. But not to wast the already printed pages and give the bookbinder a change to at least earn a bit of money in these difficult times, the CORONA EDITION of the planned Book is planned in the smallest possible edition of only 50 copies!, all numbered and signed.

It will take quite some time, as all books will have to made by hand, as 50 copies is not the amount worth using machines.

15 March 2020

Sad but not unexpected NEWS…

…from Cologne / Frankfurt

The CORONA virus now has reached also Germany: The Frankfurt Messe cancelled both the MusikMesse 2020 as well as the MusikMesse Plaza 2020, where this year Cuvée Darling 2020 was supposed to take place. Although understandable in the situation, where practically every European country is at the moment part of traveling and socially lock-down status, it was very disappointing for so many participants and for Darling Publications, as a beautiful book is already being produced at the moment of cancelling.

So as all the fabric, embossing clichés are already delivered at the book binder, we are sorting out the possibility to produce a extreme rare edition in numbers, to try to compensate some financing of the enormous financial loss due to the expo not taking place. As I am planning to make a limited edition (about only 50 books!) in the amount of participants, it will probably become one of the rarest books in history of violin making. Every participant can order one copy if they are interested. The ones which are not ordered by the participants will be fore sale for the interested. As there will be also 18 contemporary tortoise shell and 18 ivory mounted bows presented for the first time it is especially interesting for bow lovers.

But also several interesting and talented young generation luthiers can be seen published for the first time. Please write if you are interested in one of the ca. 50 books, all numbered, so I know how many can be sold to the public (non-exhibitors), as there is always a small but therefore very interested group of loyal fans of these publications.

3 + 4 April 2020,

SPECTACULAR NEWS…from Cologne / Frankfurt

Darling Publications is more than pleased to congratulate this year the Musikmesse Frankfurt for their 40th Anniversary and to announce now in 2020 with excitement, anticipation and curiosity the 1st of the Trilogy of exceptional Cuvée Darling Frankfurt Exhibitions as Cooperation Partner of Musikmesse Plaza. 

Ca. 50 Violin makers and Bow makers will be exhibiting their recent works and meet interested musicians, dealers, collectors and last but not least their colleagues! We can humbly call this exhibition „international“, as the 20 countries represented under one roof are Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China (living in Germany, no reason to fear the Corona virus!), Costa Rica, Denmark, USA, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Spain, Russia, Sweden and Turkey. Some of the exhibited instruments and bows are even for sale, an opportunity one should take as many of them have long waiting lists… A musician not able to make up his mind last year at the Cuvée Darling Frankfurt Rotonda Exhibition, travelled to Montpellier a week later to acquire the violin, luckily it was still available, as the other was sold in the exhibition to a dealer! Often the second attempt to acquire a bow or instruments was less successful, leading to a life-long (maybe also possibly an exaggerated and romanticized) regret. Don´t miss a possibly matching instrument or bow at this expo!

Additional 24 young luthiers in 6 teams of recently graduates and advanced students of Violin Making Schools of Antwerpen, Bilbao, Ghent, Istanbul, Izmir, Milano, Mirecourt, Mittenwald and Newark will join forces in another 3-year project: the building of a sextet of string instruments at the premises: 2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos . These ambitious young luthiers are obviously NOT lazy and can be see working LIVE in action during the exhibition! Certainly worth a visit!

Andy Lim personally invited 5 exceptional makers (N. Gilles, U. Hinsberger, J. Legrand, J. H. Park & A. Somers) as supervisors for the 2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos, which are planned to be presented  fully varnished in a concert in 2022 at the Cuvée Darling Frankfurt Exposition. Those who know the impeccable taste and exquisite ears (not to forget the seldom erratic nose for talent!) of A. Lim know that the high expectations of the sextet of instruments to be great sounding is not only a matter of hope, but actually more of a promise! Unfortunately they will not be for sale, but intended to be lent out to worthy young musicians. Now some extra line to the yet undeserved unknown Anton Somers: Anton from Antwerpen is more than average courageous, as he obviously wide-chested OFFERED to supervise the making of 2 instruments, but even in the making of 2 CELLOS with 2 teams! As a cellist I am delighted, but as organizer bit worried, although as an well informed and not a risky but conservative  gambler still very confident and sleeping excellent! In 2022 we will know if this generous offer is as realistic and successful in the result. Anton, we are watching you!

Same for the chapter bow making:  at least 4 bows will be made on site too, a possibility for the public to see how a bow is made, and for the colleagues surely to discuss different working styles and techniques! Magdalena Sapeta, Murat Ufuk Güler for violin bows, Ulf Johansson for a viola bow and Josef P. Gabriel the cello bow. The violin and viola bows will have great players to test them for final playing qualities. The cello bow will be personally fine-tuned by Andy Lim personally and with with certainty an exceptional playing bow, as the nowadays more than known the more than modest private collection of Andy Lim shows. (sorry for the GABRIEL cello bow advertising, but great playing cello bows in multiple quantities per maker by more than 50 others makers are also in the collection, so Andy is NOT biased!). If everything goes well we can welcome Eric Fournier and Emmanuel Bégin too in Frankfurt like last last year and seeing them making together a bow too. Same plans for the bows as the instruments to to lent out to promising young musicians, a bonus for those studying at the Frankfurt Music Academy!! 

PAULUS Bowparts will be there too, never so close to the bow makers as this occasion. With expertise and company experience from family generations, Helmut, Andreas and Matthias represent this more than well known and respected family business.

Two global players of String Manufacturing, known to well informed insiders as PIRASTRO annd THOMASTIK-INFELD will be there for professional encounters and advise. We are more than sure that several of the exhibited instruments will have swapped strings on them by the end of the exhibition, both ways!

The first and original AnimaNova carbon soundpost is also supporting this event as last year!

For those who remember the 30 meter booth of Darling Publications at Mondomusica Cremona 2012, where the handcoloured  Fish Artwork of the artist Gerhard Winkler could be admired: We are pleased to announce for our exposition the show „Gerhard Winkler – My Possibly Now and Then a Bit Strange-looking Sculptures“!

„Of course several other partners beside the violin and bow makers will welcome you in the Halle 4, Europasaal, where 600 m2 of goodies for those interested in the big exiting Strings World. Goodies for the Eyes, the Ears but also the Mouth, as always will be adequate: not only „food for thought“, but also „food and drinks for the physical well-being“! Not to forget the agreeable company!