Howard Green Bowmaker - customer testimonials and recommendations

Recommendations : Client Testimonials

The following people have been kind enough to recommend my work on this site:

Client

Testimonial

Emanuel Hurwitz C.B.E. FRAM. FRSAMD, FRSA

Aeolian String Quartet, Melos Ensemble.

Leader, English Chamber Orchestra.

Leader, Philharmonic Orchestra.

Professor at the Royal Academy of Music 1967 - 1987.

I have known and played with the violin bows made by Howard Green and consider him to be a maker of exceptional talent.

His bows combine strength and sensitivity and I take pleasure in using them.

I am confident that his work will be of importance in the English School

Rodney Friend

Former Concert Master,New York Philharmonic.

Professor Royal College Of Music

Howard Green is a bow maker of exceptional ability, with an understanding of what is required both tonally and technically by violinists of all levels. An important maker whom I recommend without reservation.

Phillip Dukes

Concerto soloist with the London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, and many others.

Professor of Viola at Trinity College of Music

Professor of Chamber Music at Wells Cathedral School.

I recently purchased a Howard Green bow. It is a bow of great beauty and craftsmanship which is ideally suited to my career as a soloist and chamber musician, providing a mixture of quality sound and subtlety. I warmly recommend his work.

Cho-Liang Lin

Violin virtuoso and internationally acclaimed Professor of violin

Juilliard School soloist

Professor of Violin, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University.

I like Howard Green's bows very much. I bought two of them myself and have performed with them. I would not hesitate to recommend them to any serious performers and anyone looking for fine bows.

Corin Long

Co-Principal Double Bass, Philharmonia Orchestra.

Professor of Double Bass, Trinity College of Music.

Howard Green is making bows of extremely high quality. The superb workmanship is complemented by the use of excellent materials, producing a bow that is perfectly balanced and a joy to use.

Brian Mack

Howard Green bows are highly recommended because they greatly enhance the average players performance. I speak from personal experience.

Bob Norris

Freelance Cellist, London

I am proud to own four bows, made by Howard Green from 1993 to 2000 inclusive, and I have also had the opportunity of trying many more, that were destined for other customers. Whilst differing from each other in detail, all are made of the very finest wood and display the same impeccable craftsmanship.

Every Howard Green bow I have tried makes possible a clear attack at any point along the bow's length, even at the quietest dynamic level. One particularly fine gold mounted example with buffalo-horn frog, made in January 1998, is my bow of first choice for solo work.

Whereas a typical Howard Green bow has a distinctive feel to it, Howard has also proved himself adept at copying the characteristics of an existing bow, to order, or at replicating specimens of his own earlier work.

In view of his growing reputation, a Howard Green bow is a most desirable investment.

Nicholas Wright

Advanced Student, Royal College of Music

Howard Green consistently produces beautifully crafted bows which excel in tone production and agility. Without doubt, they are amongst the very finest that I have ever used.

David Burrowes

Principal Cello, English Classical Players.

Cellist and Artistic Director, Chamber Academy Ensemble.

Has played Principal Cello for the City of London Sinfonia and London Mozart Players

Over the past ten years, I have bought in excess of 20 Cello bows from Howard Green. I have kept a number of these for my own use, and have passed on the rest to my students and colleagues.

I consider Howard to be a first rate craftsman with an inquiring mind and a keen eye for detail. He has a fine stock of wood, and as a cellist himself, is always sympathetic to the needs of the performer.

Regarding their playing characteristics, I would say that most of his bows have strength throughout the stick, allow for excellent articulation, and draw a deep sound from the instrument. In addition, his bows are competitively priced, and represent excellent value for money.

Ivo-Jan van der Werff

Professor of viola RCM

Member of Medici String Quartet

Congratulations on your latest viola bow. The workmanship is of the highest quality throughout. The wood is flawless with a lovely finish, and the frog excellent with everything cut and fitted beautifully. It produces a rich sound all along the stick, and bounces easily. The bow change is also very even. It is a player's delight.

Howard Green is an exceptionally fine craftsman. His bows are well balanced, have beautiful heads and are very well finished. More importantly, from a playing point of view, they work!

Gabriel Dyker

3rd Year Student, Royal College of Music,Studying with Maureen Smith.

My new bow is exactly what I was looking for; very strong, and with a powerful sound. Projection has become much easier, and filling any acoustic requires less effort, so I can concentrate on other aspects of my playing. The bow is also reassuringly stable close to the heel, which means I can do a bit more in that area than used to be possible.

Jeremy Isaac

Member of Tippett Quartet

www.tippettquartet.co.uk

My violin bow by Howard Green conforms largely to the Lamy pattern. It has perfect balance, weight and evenness along the entire bow. It has an exceptional feel of clarity to the player and I am delighted to have such response and quality from a modern bow.

Iwona Boesche

Violinist

www.iwonaboesche.com

I am a lucky owner of one of your bows. It is a gold mounted one, I bought from Guiviers last July. I had been looking for a bow that would suit me for many years, tried all sorts, some exceedingly expensive ones, but none was as good as yours! Thank you, and I wish you all the success and recognition you deserve.

Martin Wallington

No 4 Viola, BBC Philharmonic and member of The Oriana String Quartet

Since having had my viola and two bows stolen during a recent tour to Germany, I have been on the lookout for suitable replacements. By chance, I was shown a silver mounted bow by Howard Green which I loved straight away - beautifully made with a strong ,firm stick that draws a deep rich sound from the instrument - so much so that I bought it and commissioned Howard to make me one of his speciality bows with gold mountings and a buffalo horn frog, and a matching ‘cello bow for my wife.

This bow has just arrived and I am absolutely thrilled with it! It is stunning to look at, comfortable to hold especially whilst doing pizzicato, and the superbly weighted stick gives it the ability to respond immediately with a clear focused sound, in any part of the bow.

Howard Green is an excellent and dedicated craftsman who understands what players want from a bow and makes considerable effort to achieve each individual’s requirements concerning weight, balance, shape of frog etc. From a playing professional’s point of view, his bows really work - and, considering the superb standard of workmanship, provide excellent value for money!

Nigel Jay, MA

Violinist BBC Philharmonic and
leader of the Oriana string Quartet.

My Howard Green bow works excellently in all the different types of music that I play. It can cope equally well with a Bruckner Symphony and a Mozart String Quartet. The quality that I most admire is the way that it is possible to forget that the bow is there in your hand leaving you free to concentrate on the music without worrying about whether it will bounce when you want it to and avoid bouncing when you really do not want it to!
It is also a very attractive work of art - the buffalo horn frog is good to look at and functional as well, it does not slip even in hot concert halls.

John Taylor

Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra

I have recently bought a Howard Green violin bow. It has all the playing qualities we are all looking for, producing an exceptionally clear and beautiful sound. I am so lucky to have found such a fantastic bow.

David Vernon

Violin & Viola Teacher at Chetham's School of Music

Thank you for making me such a wonderful viola bow! I am still discovering a range of sounds that I had previously never heard from my viola. In essence, I find that there is much more resonance at all dynamic levels and a perfect balance between strength and suppleness in the handling of the bow.

I am both surprised and delighted by how responsive and versatile the bow is and your attention to detail and fine craftsmanship has been very evident throughout its creation. Once again, a huge thank you!

Edward Huws Jones

Author of the Boosey & Hawkes Fiddler Series

Howard Green Has made a bow which works beautifully in a wide range of styles from Jazz to Gypsy, from Celtic to Klezmer!

Leonid Gorokhov

Professor Cello, Royal College of Music, London

After playing just a few sounds it becomes very clear that the bow was made by a talented and thinking string player on a quest to excite, please, and give us fellow string players new possibilities. As you keep playing the bow becomes invisible in the hand, and there is a feeling of direct contact of your fingers with the string. The sound is mellow, full, but also has plenty of bite when needed. They also are beautifully made.

Marte Straatsma

Violinist of Arnhem Philharmonic and Bach Collegium Stuttgart.
Former student of Alexander Kerr.

I have played with a Howard Green bow since the summer of 2006. The sound is magnificent; it has strength and yet is very flexible. It looks amazing too; beautiful wood and lovely decorated. It improved my playing and makes my violin sing as never before.

Moshe Friedman

Freelance cello performer
London Cello teacher for Kent Music Academy, Canterbury

Throughout my professional career as a performing cellist, I had the priviledge to own several quality bows, old and new. My new Howard Green Bow is a great pleasure to play and perform with because of the high quality of workmanship, great balance as well as the use of the best materials; the bow is perfect for performance of the most demanding musical works. Many thanks to Mr Howard Green.

Cristoff Fourie '07

Thank you for carving me the most beautiful friend for life. It is far superior to anything I had ever.

Chris Abel

I was extremely pleased with the bow to say the least. I was almost shocked by the feel of it in my hand. The balance was perfect, and I especially liked the feel and shape of the horn frog. It is much easier to control than my previous bow, and draws a full, rich tone from my violin. I improved over night! It is also beautiful to look at. Once again thanks very much.

Paul Livingstone
(student of Angus Ramsay)

I recently commissioned a gold-mounted Howard Green violin bow. The bow is a joy to use.

Emily MacPherson

Freelance Violinist

Thank you so much for making me such a great bow! It is exactly what I was looking for and I love playing with it because I don’t have to fight with it or persuade it to do things, as I did with my previous bow. It’s like going from using a trowel to having a paintbrush, and my only regret is not having got one years ago!

David Powis

Violinist

I bought my violin bow from Howard on the recommendation of a friend with whom I play quartets. Most of my playing is chamber music - quartets, piano trios, string quintets etc. The bow is beautifully made, and flows evenly over the string from heel to tip. I find that I am playing with the full length of the bow more than before, and consequently produce a fuller, richer sound. The balance is excellent, and spiccato bowing is easy to control.

My violin was made in Scotland in 1905, so it seems appropriate that it should be played with a bow also made north of the border! I really love this bow, and my only regret is that I didn't buy one of Howard's bows years ago!