A Beautiful Belgian Violin by Georges Heynberg, 1968.

The Heynberg Dynasty of Belgium.

Patriarch, Désiré Heynberg was an accomplished violinist and pedagogue who composed "Bravoura" for violin and piano in 1887, and taught at the Conservetory in Liège, Belgium. His students included Armand Parent, Cesar Thomson, and from 1865-1867, Eugène Ysaye.

Son of Désiré, Émile Heynberg (1864–1939) worked for the successor of Nicolas Vuillaume, Georges Mougenot in Brussels, and for Gand and Bernadel in Paris before establishing independently in Liège, Belgium from 1895. He made masterful instruments after Stradivari, Guarneri, and Vuillaume and was appointed official violin maker for the Conservatory in Liège.

Georges Heynberg (1901-1985) began formally working for his father in 1920, assisting Émile until his death in 1939. He succeeded his father as official luthier for the Liège Conservatory, and made masterful instruments upon the patterns of Stradivari, Guarneri, and Gagliano. He furthered his father’s traditions with instruments featuring particularly beautiful tone-woods and a refined oil varnish. So much so that in December of 2024, a violin by Georges Heynberg sold for $9,223 at auction - the price before hammer fees and tax.

This absolutely mint example of Belgian violin making in Liège by Georges Heynberg is a highly characteristic example of his work, crafted in 1968. It leaves little to imagine why they have become so sought after and offers a highly competitive voice in its balance of flexibility and response, power, clarity, and tonal palate.