Matthias Kloz, 1656-1743

Matthias Kloz (1656-1743) is the earliest known ancestor of the Kloz family, and also a leading figure in the industrial development of making instruments in Mittenwald. Not very much is known about his personal life. Some say he studied with Stainer, while some say he studied with Nicolo Amati, but currently there is not any evidence to definitely prove that he ever went to Italy.

Kloz returned to Germany in 1683. Since people in Mittenwald were good at carving, he taught people how to make cheap instruments, which started the development of an instrument making industry there and allowed Mittenwald to regain the prosperity it had before the war. During this time, the Stainer violins were the most popular; therefore, being located at the city center, Kloz also made Stainer model violins, and taught students how to imitate them. Kloz possessed the utmost accuracy and rarely made any mistakes. The timbre of his violins is gorgeous, but the quality of wood he used is average. His varnishes are usually yellowish brown with a dark brown layer on the bottom. Not very many of his works have survived.

Sebastian Kloz, Johann Karl Kloz and Georg Karl Kloz were all his sons, but Sebastian was the greatest luthier in the entire family and made a huge number of instruments.

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