Johann Friedrich Meisner

Lubeck, 1700–1770

Johann Friedrich Meisner (1700-1770) was a prominent 18th-century German violin maker and musician based in Lübeck. Known for his instruments crafted in the Saxon style, modeled after Stainer and reminiscent of the Voigtländer school, his violins featured dark brown varnish and were noted for their good, albeit sometimes sharp, tone. Meisner also served as a Rathsmusikus in Lübeck, where he was considered the finest violin maker of his time.

Worked Lubeck

Maker Overview

Life

Johann Friedrich Meisner (1700-1770) was born in 1700 and died in 1770 in Lübeck, Germany. Sources contain conflicting information about his birthplace; while he explicitly stated it in a request, no indication of his name or birth date could be found in the Guben church books between 1700 and 1720ütgendorff's Die Geigen- und Lautenmacher vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. Meisner was a musician, playing both violin and flute, and also a violin maker. He traveled through Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg before settling in Lübeck, where he applied for a position as a Rathsmusiker in 1734, a role he later obtained. On October 12, 1742, he acquired Lübeck citizenship and married a woman born Donner in the same year. He entered a second marriage on June 22, 1752, to Magdalena Hanthorn, the daughter of a cloth maker from Saxony. He was consistently referred to as "Violinmacher und Rathsmusikus" (violin maker and council musician) and was considered the best Lübeck violin maker of the 18th century.

Characteristics

Workmanship: His work is described as good, revealing a skilled hand (kunstgeübte Hand).
Model: His instruments were modeled after Stainer and in the Saxon style's The Brompton's Book of Violin & Bow Makers.
School: His models are reminiscent of the Voigtländer school.
Varnish: He used dark brown varnish, and his instruments are usually dark varnished.
Tone: His violins possess a very good, though sometimes somewhat sharp, tone.
Label: An example of his label reads "Johann Friedrich Meisner / in Lübeck gemacht Ao 1760".

Recorded labels

Johann Friedrich Meisner / in Lübeck gemacht Ao 1760John Dilworth

Influence and legacy

Stylistic Influence: His instruments were modeled after Stainer and exhibited the Saxon style.
School Affiliation: His models are reminiscent of the Voigtländer school.
Museum Holdings: A violin made by him is part of the collection at the Museum in Lübeck.
Orchestral Holdings: The Lübeck Stadtkapelle possesses a large bass crafted by Meisner.

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Biographies

The overview above is drawn from the following published accounts. Read them in the original:

John Dilworth+

MEISNER, Johann Friedrich Born 1700, died 1770 Lübeck Germany. Violinist and flautist. Professional violin making in the Saxon style, modelled after Stainer with dark brown varnish. Johann Friedrich Meisner / in Lübeck gemacht Ao 1760

Willibald Leo Lütgendorff+

Seinen Geburtsort giebt er selbst ausdrücklich in einem Gesuch an, trotzdem
war es nicht möglich, in den Gubener Kirchenbüchern von 1700—1720
auch nur den Hinweis auf das Vorkommen seines Namens zu finden, geschweige
denn seinen Geburtstag. Er war Musiker (Geige und Flöte) und Violinmacher
und kam auf der Wanderschaft über Schleswig-Holstein und Mecklenburg nach
Lübeck, wo er sich 1734 um die Anwartschaft auf eine Rathsmusikerstelle bewarb,
die er später auch erhielt. Am 12. October 1742 erwarb er das Lübecker
Bürgerrecht und heirathete im selben Jahre eine geb. Donner und am 22. Juni
1752 in zweiter Ehe Magdalena Hanthorn, die Tochter eines Tuchmachers aus
Sachsen. Er wird stets als »Violinmacher und Rathsmusikus« bezeichnet und
war der beste Lübecker Geigenmacher des 18. Jahrhunderts. Seine Arbeit ist
gut, erinnert in den Modellen an die Voigtländer Schule und verräth eine
kunstgeübte Hand. Seine Geigen haben einen sehr guten, manchmal aber etwas
scharfen Ton und sind meist dunkel lackirt. Eine Violine von ihm besitzt das Museum in
Lübeck, einen grossen Bass die Lübecker Stadtkapelle.