Hong Kong Luthier Anton Sie has Died, Aged 87

The physicist and luthier was based in Hong Kong since 1977

The physicist and luthier Anton Sie, who was a particular expert in violin acoustics, has passed away at aged 87. Based in Hong Kong since 1977, he also taught violin, cello, and guitar.

Sie was born in Indonesia in 1935 and moved to China to begin his undergraduate degree in physics, which he completed at Jilin University. Quantum physics and the physics of acoustics became his career, and he took a research position at the North Eastern Institute of Physics.

He became interested in the acoustics of the violin shortly after his young daughter completed a violin exam, with the examiner noting on the report that her 1/8-size had uncommonly good acoustic properties.

When Sie arrived in Hong Kong in 1977, violin-making began to play a much more central role in his life, and he became a repairer of choice for the players of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. During this time, he also worked alongside Carleen Hutchins (the co-founder of the Catgut Acoustical Society), which contributed greatly to East-West relations in the violin-making world.

Sie was the subject of a 2017 book by Elizabeth Ostring, titled Crafting a Symphony in Wood.

Our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.