“For me, it is important to deliver dependable instruments of high quality that musicians love to work with. In the first instance, producing a sound is a lonely exercise and the musician will not be rewarded for his work until presenting it on stage. This is why the instrument is all the more important,” Derenbach says. “I make instruments that invite the musician to approach to music. Personally, I know the close relationship that comes into existence between a human being and an instrument. It has always been an honour for me when musicians commission an instrument they intend to play for many years.”

Claus Derenbach began his apprenticeship under Haat-Hedlec Uilderks in Lübeck and later attended the Violin Making School in Mittenwald. Since 1990, he has been working as a Geigenbaumeister (Master Violin Maker) in his own workshop in Cologne.

Claus Derenbach sees himself in the tradition of Italian and French violinmakers and has meanwhile made more than 60 instruments.