Resounding Treasures of the Musikkollegium Winterthur

In 1951, Gustave Huguenin from Corseaux-Vevey (Switzerland) made a generous gift to the Musikkollegium's association: he gave us the outstanding Stainer Quartet as an "inalienable property", "in memory of his musical period of apprenticeship in Winterthur" and for his friendship with Georges Zellweger, then member of the Board of the Musikkollegium.

The four instruments - two violins (1659), one viola (1660) and one cello (1673)  - were made by Jacob Stainer, then considered the best instrument maker of his time. He was born around 1619 in Absam near Hall in Tyrol. He became an apprentice of violin making as from the middle of the 1630ies in Italy, probably with Nicolò Amati in Cremona; after extensive years of travel, Stainer settled in Absam around1655; his name was well-known at the time, and there seemed to be no lack of orders. A conflict with the church and a severe mental illness, however, darkened the last years of his life; his finances, too, seemed to develop unfavourably. He died in 1683.

Yet the use of the instruments of the Stainer Quartet did not get going right away, after 1951. Interested musicians were put off due to the very restrictive statutes. A further hindrance proved to be the fact that the instruments - like many of the instruments from that epoch - had undergone alterations earlier for their use in concert halls (probably in the 19th century). On the occasion of the major Stainer Exhibition at Schloss Ambras in Innsbruck in 2003 where all four instruments were shown, the Board decided to pave the way for the restoration of the instruments of the Quartet to their original Baroque condition. Aline Oberle, master violin maker from Steuerberg/Carinthia made these restorations in 2003/04.

The instruments are made available to select musicians. For more information, please contact the curator Christian Sager or go to www.stainerquartett.ch