British Luthier Peter Voigt has Died, Aged 80

Voigt was a ninth generation master violin maker and restorer based in the UK

Born in 1943 in Manchester, Peter Voigt was the ninth generation in the established Voigt family business of violin making and restoration, which was begun in 1699 by Adam Voigt in Germany.

Peter Voigt was the grandson of Paul Arno Voigt, who arrived in England in the early 1900s and set up a violin business in Manchester. In 1947, Paul’s two sons opened a violin shop in central London and each later opened their own separate businesses. 

At the age of 17, Peter joined his father in Monmouth Street, Soho to learn the craft. The pair moved their business to Sussex in 1970, and by 1981 upon his father’s retirement, Peter relocated to Lindfield. 

Across his 67-year career, his knowledge of the violin trade brought customers worldwide to his workshop. He also contributed to the development of young musicians through his work for the Benslow Instrument Loan Scheme. Voigt also worked in motor racing, rebuilding, restoring, and racing cars.

His own fine collection of violins, cellos, and bows includes a c.1830-1840 Joseph Ceruti violin, one c.1845 Jean Baptiste Vuillaume violin, and an 1815 William Forster cello. The collection from his estate will be sold by auction on March 28, 2025. 

“My aim is to preserve the way each violin was made, even if it was not to my taste,” Voigt said in Country Life in 2015. “If the maker used a dull, slightly muddy opaque varnish, we must preserve that and not polish it up to look too cheerful.”

Our condolences to Mr. Voigt’s family, friends, and colleagues.