Posted on May 4, 2026May 4, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: John Koster Meet the Maker: John Koster by Nicholas Von Robison Originally published in American Lutherie #34 1994 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Four, 2006 Dateline Vermillion, South Dakota. It happened at the GAL’s 13th national convention. Quick as an adder, the long, thin arm of American Lutherie editor Tim Olsen snaked into the crowd and tore me kicking and screaming from the group of luthiers. “Go interview” was the command, and “Who would you like to do?” the question. Without hesitation I named John Koster, the conservator of the Shrine to Music Museum (Editor’s note: now the National Music Museum). I had never met John but I knew that he was also a devoteé of taking tiny splinters of wood and putting them under a microscope in order to precisely determine the identity of a wood. I soon found that wood anatomy is only one of the myriad and assorted areas of knowledge that John calls upon in his work. He was enjoying a day off, but graciously consented to this interview and a tour of his workshop. The time I spent with John one of the high points of my convention experience. John, please tell us a little bit about your early beginnings, your background and education, and the path that led you to the Shrine to Music Museum. I’m a fairly recent arrival here at the Shrine to Music Museum. I came here in September of 1991 so I’ve only been here eight or nine months. Previous to this I was a harpsichord maker for about twenty years, back in Massachusetts. Before that, my background had been more musical than instrument making. I went to St. Thomas Choir school in New York City, the only church-affiliated, boarding choir school in the country, very much on the English model. I was into classical music and played the piano, but really wanted to play the harpsichord. In prep-school years, during the summer, my father and I put together one of the original Zuckerman clavichord kits — a plywood box with some strings on it and a piano keyboard. A couple of years later when I was fifteen we put together a harpsichord, another Zuckerman kit, one of the original nonbent-sided ones. It was a cigar-box-violin kind of thing, but it got me started and I had something to play on. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on August 1, 2022May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Harpsichord Basics Harpsichord Basics by J.R. Beall Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Newsletter Volume 1, #2, 1973 Almost since the beginning of my career as a luthier, I have been obsessed with the desire to build harpsichords. My inclinations were, however, met with a great deal of difficulty resultig from the fact that in my part of the country, harpshichords and their makers are rare. After quite a long period of dilligent investigation, I did manage to compile a list of information on the subject and was able, successfully, to build my first instrument. The completion of my own scratchbuilt harpsichord was one of the most exciting and satisfying occurences of my career as a luthier, and I recommend it highly to those of you with similar aspirations. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on March 4, 2022May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Harpsichords: Reconstructing an Era Harpsichords: Reconstructing an Era by Byron Will Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 5 ,#4, 1977 The music of the renaissance and baroque has undergone a rebirth in the twentieth century, with musicians and makers attempting to rediscover the high level of the art which was reached. A great deal of work has been done in the enormous process of making a musical era live again, with the scholar having to be cautious of falling into preconceptions and making personal assumptions which may be quite false. This long an difficult process has many times changed the musicians and makers outlook on the “correct” approach. Although there are not and never were absolutes, much more is known than twenty years ago and the modern maker has a better idea of what is required of the musician interpreting the great compositions of the past. The most logical approach the modern harpsichord maker may take is to carefully study the old instruments and attempt to understand the old makers methods. There are many antiques that have been restored, although not all with the greatest of care. Many old instruments have been altered, perhaps many times, so not much of the original remains. What can we tell from the antiques which are two or three hundred years old? The antiques play music with the clarity, growth, and beauty that a great instrument has, having a strong character that works with the music and performer to give a completely satisfying performance. The antiques sometimes have a certain ugliness or crudeness to their tone adding charm and incisive character. The modern maker must determine what he hears in the antiques, study how they were constructed and incorporate this information in his work in order to properly approach the old makers’ art. Their need for caution is as important as the scholars’. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on January 7, 2010May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: The Modern Harpsichord by Wolfgang Joachim Zuckermann Review: The Modern Harpsichord by Wolfgang Joachim Zuckermann Reviewed by J.R. Beall Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Newsletter Volume 1, #1, 1973 The Modern Haprsichord Wolfgang Joachim Zuckermann Octoberhouse Inc. $15.00 This recent book by Mr. Zuckermann is a large, well-illustrated, intelligently written and edited volume that lists and comments on most of the known makers of today. It contains, also, an historical preface and a practical guide to the care and feeding of all kinds of harpsichords, ancient and modern. This book is interesting, readable, sometimes humorous, often bitingly critical. Zuckermann’s liberal use of his own rather strong opinion seems not to detract from the authority of this well-researched work. Anyone interested in buying or building a harpsichord will find this book immensely valuable and well worth its $15.00 price. Having just finished my first scratch-built harpsichord, I speak from personal experience. ◆
