Classical Violin Bow: Consolidating the Classical Period
(Late 18th/early 19th century) Bow design

the term""Classical bow" is not like ""Baroque bow" covers a wide range of different styles of bows and structural variations. However, as a term, it is almost as easily misunderstood because, like the Classical bow, it describes the classics of certain styles that were still developing at the time. Objectively speaking, a more appropriate term is "transitional bow": in the history of bowmaking, the classical period was a very short and all-inclusive period. It was during this time that the progress made in this field was consolidated.

As was the case in the Baroque era, music itself was the main driving force behind the continued refinement of violin bow design. The emphasis in the 17th and early 18th centuries was on meeting the demands of increasingly challenging works oriented toward solo performance, while in the 18th century the focus shifted to bourgeois concert performances, which required a powerful voice , this sound can also be heard in larger spaces. The violin has become a solo instrument that must be able to hold its own within a larger ensemble such as a symphony orchestra. Today's music world is paying more and more attention to outstanding performers, a trend that fits well with the growing interest in the principles of genius. The performance style of these players is defined by multi-faceted bowing. The first names that need to be mentioned here are soloists and composersGiovanni Battista Viotti(1755-1824); he is considered one of the fathers of modern violin playing and his motto was "Le violon – c'est l'archet!" emphasizing the role of the bow like no other (except Arcangelo Corelli). The key development from the classical violin bow to the modern violin bow occurred under the influence of Viotti and other soloists who are still legendary today, such as Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831) and Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840). John Dodd (1752-1839) improved the breaking strength of the stick by introducing new techniques for splitting wood, while Christian Wilhelm Knopf (1767-1837) of Markneukirchen invented a metal base plate, thereby eliminating a key in the screw mechanism of the Baroque bow weakness.Known as the " Cramer Violin Bow” model became the most popular among leading soloists with its unique high-hammer headstock, solid concave stem and clip-on bow. Ultimately, François Xavier Tourte created the modern violin bow model that perfected the classical violin bow style, and thus opened a new era.