Baki Róbert - master violinmaker
Bachias Roberto was born on the 28th of September 1980, in Szaszregen, . He got to know instrument making very early, as his mother was working in the instrument factory of the town. After finishing elementary school he went to vocational school where he learnt instrument making. In the first year he learnt about the use of tools and woods. Afterwards he became a student of his mother in the factory. In 1998 he took a successful vocational exam as an instrument maker. Then he was working for 3 years in Vivarius instrument making factory. In 2002 his friends suggested him to go to Hungary, and he did so. In Budapest he started working in a restoration workshop, and some months later he worked in his own workshop where he restored antique furniture. Meanwhile, he often visited the instrument making stores and workshops where he met Lajos Konya. Together they rented the workshop of Tibor Semmelweis in the spring of 2004. Because of the Hungarian expectations he enrolled the department of instrument making in the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. His ideas were supported by Tibor Semmelweis. His master was Lajos Konya junior, the youngest violin-maker of the famous Konya family. He finished school in the June of 2007. He considers accurate work very important which gives his instruments special acoustic and aesthetic characteristic. He tries to complement his present knowledge with new experience in the hope of better solutions.
Kónya Lajos Jr. - master violinmaker
Lajos Konya was born on the 14th of August in 1977, in Tatabánya. He started elementary school in Imre Mezo Elementary School, but from the 3rd grade he went to Gyorgy Dozsa Elementary School. As he was not a very good student, after finishing elementary school, he went to a vocational and learnt to be a carpenter. He started his instrument making studies and made his first 3/4 violin with the help of his grandfather and father during these years. He learnt the use of tools and woods in the school workshop. Thanks to the excellent teachers he finished vocational school exquisitely. In these years he spent more and more time in his father's workshop where he made ornamental carvings and violin accessories. He went on with his studies in Antal Pech Secondary School where he took his school-leaving examination in 1996. He was admitted to the Department of Instrument Making in the Franz Liszt Music Academy. His master was his father Lajos Konya, golden wreath master of violin making, his fellow-students were Szilard Benko and Daniel Racz. He was awarded "Student of the Year" in the year 1997/1998. He was working in the workshop in Tatabanya for 2 years after graduating. Here he gained professional practice. Afterwards he started his own business in Szekesfehervar, in the first year is the Kossuth street, and then he moved to Fo street. Here he met musicians and the excellent teachers of Laszlo Hermann Music School gaining friends and business relationships. Meanwhile he was also working with Szilard Benko in Budapest. In 2004 he moved back to Tatabanya and met Robert Baki with whom he took over and in 2005 bought the workshop of Tibor Semmelweis in Budapest. He became a master of violin making in 2006 and, together with his colleague, he continuously works for the success of their workshop.