Johann Friedrich Meisner

History

Johann Friedrich Meisner (1700-1770) was born in 1700 and died in 1770 in Lübeck, Germany. Sources contain conflicting information about his birthplace; while he explicitly stated it in a request, no indication of his name or birth date could be found in the Guben church books between 1700 and 1720, according to Willibald Leo Lütgendorff's Die Geigen- und Lautenmacher vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. Meisner was a musician, playing both violin and flute, and also a violin maker. He traveled through Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg before settling in Lübeck, where he applied for a position as a Rathsmusiker in 1734, a role he later obtained. On October 12, 1742, he acquired Lübeck citizenship and married a woman born Donner in the same year. He entered a second marriage on June 22, 1752, to Magdalena Hanthorn, the daughter of a cloth maker from Saxony. He was consistently referred to as "Violinmacher und Rathsmusikus" (violin maker and council musician) and was considered the best Lübeck violin maker of the 18th century.

Craft

• Workmanship: His work is described as good, revealing a skilled hand (kunstgeübte Hand).
• Model: His instruments were modeled after Stainer and in the Saxon style, according to John Dilworth's The Brompton's Book of Violin & Bow Makers.
• School: His models are reminiscent of the Voigtländer school.
• Varnish: He used dark brown varnish, and his instruments are usually dark varnished.
• Tone: His violins possess a very good, though sometimes somewhat sharp, tone.
• Label: An example of his label reads "Johann Friedrich Meisner / in Lübeck gemacht Ao 1760".

Influence

• Stylistic Influence: His instruments were modeled after Stainer and exhibited the Saxon style.
• School Affiliation: His models are reminiscent of the Voigtländer school.

Legacy

• Museum Holdings: A violin made by him is part of the collection at the Museum in Lübeck.
• Orchestral Holdings: The Lübeck Stadtkapelle possesses a large bass crafted by Meisner.

Further Information

• Professions: Meisner was a violinist, flautist, and a Rathsmusikus (council musician).
• Citizenship: He acquired Lübeck citizenship on October 12, 1742.
• Marriages: He married a woman born Donner in 1742 and Magdalena Hanthorn on June 22, 1752.

Summary

Johann Friedrich Meisner (1700-1770) was a prominent 18th-century German violin maker and musician based in Lübeck. Known for his instruments crafted in the Saxon style, modeled after Stainer and reminiscent of the Voigtländer school, his violins featured dark brown varnish and were noted for their good, albeit sometimes sharp, tone. Meisner also served as a Rathsmusikus in Lübeck, where he was considered the finest violin maker of his time.