*SOLD or NO LONGER AVAILABLE* Listing for archive purposes only, see viola bows tab for current inventory
A Tête-Bêche Acacia Viola bow by Gilles Nehr, with a titanium head design, and one of the few with a titanium frog, gold adjuster with gold pins. Stunning aesthetic and playing characteristics, which tends to draw from a number of instruments a large, warm, open sound, with strong focus and sensitive clarity. 68 grams, with a nice balance leaning towards the tip for a powerful and on lighter spectrum viola bow with a nimble and supportive heft.
Interview about Gilles and Tête-Bêche
https://youtu.be/a0vb4buoG3
Features:
-Avant Garde design with the playability of a traditional French bow
-Self Re-hairing
-Fixed frog for sideway movement prevention, consistency of thumb placement & improvement of bow resonance
-Stunning frog design in titanium
-Durable & light titanium head
-Consistency of balance, tone and stability
-Flat top handle facet giving the feel and stability of a traditional bow
-Ease of response with an open, powerful, warm, complex, harmonic spectrum with focus.
https://youtu.be/qx5NUJPA9Ig
Genesis of Tête Bêche
https://youtu.be/6EDJNFfnM10
Self Re-Hair
https://youtu.be/qx5NUJPA9Ig
About Gilles:
Gilles was born in the southwest of France, near Bordeaux. From a very young age, his passion for drawing took most of his free time. At age 16, attracted by the artistic profession of his cousin, master bowmaker Jean-Pascal Nehr, Gilles Nehr became his apprentice in Marseille and graduated in bowmaking at Mirecourt at 19.
Gilles Nehr moved to Toulouse to work in Stéphane Muller' workshop. Two years later, convinced by his knowledge of the purest French tradition, René Morel hired him as the only bowmaker in his workshop on 54th street in New York City. Gilles Nehr was the bowmaker of the world's top musicians: Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Isaac Stern, Joshua Bell, Midori, Jamie Laredo and many more. During this time, as he restored and observed bows of unique beauty and value, he developed a new -Bêche bow was born.
In 1999 Gilles Nehr left René Morel rare vi . Along with selling his own bows, traditional and Tête-Bêche model, he was the exclusive caretaker of the Juilliard School bow collection.
In 2002 Gilles Nehr moved back to Europe and set up his new workshop in Lisbon. He participated the only competition he ever participated, the BVMA International Violin and Bowmaking Competition, at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where he won a prize for best craftsmanship.
Gilles Nehr lived in Rome, then Berlin, and moved back in 2017 to the Bordeaux region in France. As of 2018, Gilles is proudly represented by Bay Fine Strings.