Elida visit to Gliga's workshop, September 2015

Here are pictures and short videos from my visit.  The full video is here elidaviolins.co.uk/pages/gliga

There are two violin workshops in Reghin.  The other is Hora which is much larger.  As you enter the town, and on the main roundabout in the town, you see statues of violins!

Gliga have a small shop and on the wall there you can see this representation of the stages in the violin making process.

 There is a selection of violins are in the shop but most of Gliga's products are exported.

The ballerina in the foreground is one of Gliga's pyrographed designs.  Several of these are made and we can obtain them to order but a deposit would be required.  Towards the back you can see a painted violin.  These are available in various qualities, colours and designs from Genial 1 to Gems 1.

I was tasked with choosing a Gama cello for a customer.  The only problem with that is that I don't really play the cello as you can tell from this video (worth watching for the laugh!)

 The Gama is a very good cello and I can assure you it sounded vastly better when played by the post grade 8 student it was bought for!

I was desperate to try Gliga's Amati copy.  This is a violin inspired by the Amati 1572 violin.  The one I tried had been on display in the shop but is only fitted with factory strings.  Also because of severe arthritis in my shoulder I can hardly play now.  I would love to hear this violin played by someone who can really play!

 Unfortunately my shoulder is so wrecked that this is now about the best I can play.  I used to be at Diploma standard and played viola in the Leicester Symphony Orchesta, Huddersfield Philharmonic and Slaithwaite Philiharmonic (but not all at the same time!). 

I love this violin on a map of Romania and will buy one sometime.  It really plays!

Here is the amati copy with the Gama cello I chose

 One of my favourite painted designs is the blue butterfly.  In fact Gliga violins are good enough that even with all this paint on they still sound good.  I used to play one of these in church.  This one is a Gems 2.

The actual violin making process is shown on our main Gliga page but unfortunately the camera battery ran out before I had finished, so here are a couple of extra bits:

 I have heard people on certain forums say that the Gliga violins cannot possibly be oil varnished.  Well they are, and here is the proof.  The only Gliga violins that are not oil varnished are at opposite ends of the spectrum: the Genial 2, in common with the vast majority of student violins, has a sprayed on nitro varnish.  The Ceruti Master violin has a spirit varnish (but not sprayed on!)

Here is a video where the lady who showed me round describes the process of making the ebony and bone inlay for the Hellier copy.  This lady learned English entirely through watching movies because under Ceausescu the only foreign language taught in schools was Russian.  I was impressed and I am sure you will be too!

 and finally here are pictures of the natural finish "Hellier" we brought back for a customer.  Apparently it plays beautifully too.