Wiebke Lüders

Felemakeriet

Luthier

Art, music and craftsmanship

Wiebke trained with one of the last masters of fiddle making
She was born in Germany and is now based in Norway
She also has a passion for puppetry

The Hardanger fiddle is a traditional folk instrument, played mainly in the south west of Norway. Wiebke Lüders fell in love with it during a visit to the Ringve Museum in Trondheim in 2008. “Before that I had been thinking of becoming a violin maker, but was never so sure about it, because I did not see myself as a craftsperson only. I always wanted to do something artistic”. And so she did. After training extensively all over the world as a musical instruments conservator, including at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York, in 2016 she became a fiddle maker. In her free time, she devotes herself to the enchanting world of marionettes, a passion she developed in Vienna where she learnt traditional marionette playing techniques.

Interview

How did you come to take over your master’s workshop?: Sigvald Rørlien is one of the last fiddle makers in Norway and is now 78 years old. When he retired in 2018, I took over the workshop in Voss. He felt that I could make more use of my creativity by being an instrument maker rather than a restorer.
Why did you choose the Hardanger fiddle over the violin?: Because it combines craftsmanship with art, creativity and music. It matches with many of my interests and talents. In contrast to violin making, it allows for more freedom and space for personal ideas. Every fiddle is unique in shape, sound and ornamentation.
How does your passion for puppets fit into your world?: The art of puppeteering has fascinated me since I was a child, and I always dreamt of creating my own little puppet theatre. For many years, I worked as a marionette player, as well as a stage and puppet builder, at the Marionette Theatre Schloss Schönbrunn in Vienna.
How do you combine tradition and innovation?: By merging traditional techniques and modern tools and by experimenting to achieve my own ideal sound. I’m also using traditional Norwegian and European patterns as a basis for creating my own individual designs and fiddle heads and pegboxes.

Wiebke Lüders is a master artisan: she began her career in 2014 and she started teaching in 2016