Violin Expert Charles Beare has Passed Away, Aged 88

The director of J. & A. Beare and later Beare Violins, he was sought after for his knowledge of the great violin makers

Born in 1937, Charles Beare started studying violin making in Mittenwald in 1958, under his stepfather William Beare, then director of the J. & A. Beare firm.

In 1960, his stepfather sent him to New York to work at the Rembert Wurlitzer firm. During his time there, he studied 110 Stradivari instruments and 57 Guarneris under the guidance of both Wurlitzer and restorer Simone Sacconi.

Later, Charles returned to his family's firm and helped it become one of the world's most well-respected delarships. Upon leaving the firm in 2012, he began working with his two sons, Peter and Freddie, under the company name of Beare Violins Ltd.

As the director of J. & A. Beare and later Beare Violins Ltd, his opinion was sought by countless musicians — including Jacqueline du Pré, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Yo-Yo Ma.

As Tarisio writes, "his certificates were regarded by many as an irreproachable guarantee of authenticity."

Charles also served as the former president of the Entente Internationale des Maîtres Luthiers et Archetiers d’Art, an honorary fellow of London’s Royal Academy of Music, and a frequent lecturer for the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers and the Violin Society of America.

He organized the 1987 exhibition of Stradivari’s work in Cremona, and in 2013, he created another landmark Stradivari exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

After the death of his friend, Paul Rosenbaum, he dove into researching the lives of the Venetian makers, and his research remains unpublished to this day.

In the early 2000s, he received an OBE for services to the music industry, and was made an honorary citizen of Cremona.

Our condolences to Mr. Beare's family, friends, and colleagues.