PAUL NOULET, LIMOGES (FRANCE)

With over 25 years of experience, several international awards, and 10 years of training in schools and workshops around the world, Paul Noulet now devotes himself exclusively to making professional instruments. His extensive research into the traditions of Italian master violin makers guides his approach to balancing the tension and structure of violins, violas and cellos for optimal tone. With a keen interest in varnish development, Paul Noulet uses scientifically based recipes developed over 20 years of experimentation. His research on the links between manufacturing techniques and sound has also led him to collaborate regularly with scientists, notably Claudia Fritz (researcher in musical acoustics at the CNRS, France) with whom he has led various projects, including the creation of the first European acoustics workshop.

Today, Noulet specializes mainly in the recreation of some of the great instruments of Stradivarius, Guarneri and Amati, for musicians around the world. He has made close to one hundred violins, violas and cellos. His work has been played by musicians from many prestigious ensembles: London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra (London), London Chamber Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Prometheus 21, Ensemble Amarillis, Ensemble Les Siècles, Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra (Philharmoniker Hamburg), Deutsche Oper Berlin, Simón Bolívar Symphonic Orchestra (Venezuela), Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile…etc.