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Hardworking hands: Zarko Trifunov in the workshop
In his native Vrsac, where he still lives today, Zarko Trifunov (53) is known as the commander of the fire and rescue department, but also for his unusual hobby. No less and no more, he makes violins with a tool used by the famous Antonio Stradivari! And not only that, he also helps children when their beloved instrument creaks.
Zarko has been a firefighter since 1997, and his love for wood was born a year earlier in order to make his first violin because of his younger daughter Vanja.
– A lot of factors agreed. I have been dealing with wood since the early nineties, so the processing technology was not foreign to me. Then the daughter enrolled in the Music School and decided to play the violin. When I first took that instrument in my hands, I was fascinated by such a small and light instrument that gives such a strong and beautiful tone. Simple on the one hand, and terribly complicated on the other. She looks like a woman, doesn’t she? – Trifunov rhetorically asked “Vesti” reporters.
He does not hide his enthusiasm for the violin, which would be said to be a real enigma for him.
– It is an instrument about which everything is known, and practically nothing is known. Even today, there are no guidelines by which you can make a top violin. That is why every master has an ace up his sleeve that he jealously guards, and does not guarantee that the violin he makes will be something spectacular. When you find out all about the violin, then curiosity works, Serbian spite… And the violin is created – says Žarko, who started dealing with violins theoretically fifteen years ago.
Self-taught, he persistently searched for the secrets of making violins, discovering them most often on the Internet. He says that a lot of knowledge is needed for a good violin, from knowledge of wood and its processing to varnishes, physics, acoustics… E, only when it is mastered, he starts building a violin. First from some rehearsal materials, and then from real wood for the violin, which is quite expensive and difficult to obtain, with tools that the most famous Italian creator of string instruments of all time worked on.
Dad’s best violin: Vanya at nine years old
For making 300 hours
– Each part in the production is made with tools as 300 and a fraction of a year ago, from molds, chisels, planes, measuring instruments, glues from bones and leather, varnishes that the masters themselves make from the products of beetles from Indonesia and conifer resin. Each master makes a large part of the tools himself, and something can be found on the Internet. First of all, I bought a small lathe, learned to work with it and then made tools for making a violin – says our interlocutor.
The quality of the spruce used for the top plate, which is also present in our country, is crucial for the divine sound of the violin. For the maple, from which the violin box is made, he claims that the best in the world grows in Bosnia, so he procures it there, as well as most of the world’s great and well-known string instrument manufacturers.
It takes about 200 to 300 hours to make one violin, depending on the mood, wood, temperature, humidity…
– It is difficult to describe the production process, it is all handmade. It is done very slowly, it takes an incredible amount of patience, because even the smallest mistake destroys the part that is being worked on. It happens, for example, that a chisel slips and destroys ten days of work on the upper plate of the violin, which is somewhere only two millimeters thick – explains one of the few masters in Serbia who makes violins.
Musicians in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany and Italy play his instruments, and he is currently making his 44th violin. Only those who received their serial number as a guarantor of origin are included in that number. He claims that he would recognize each of his violins, even if there were a hundred of them in the orchestra.
– Each instrument is unique. No matter how hard you try, no two violins are the same in appearance or tone. For example, there are specifics on the instrument that indicate who the master is, from the snail on the neck of the violin, marquetry to the corners. The handiwork itself gives the violin a special stamp – reveals Žarko, for whom the making of wonderful instruments is a source of pleasure, not earnings.
Enough for happiness
He sells them at the price at which he will pay for the material, violin equipment, strings and everything else related to the production.
– The price of all that is around 600 euros, which is extremely small for a master violin, but enough for the happiness of the one who bought it and me being able to make another instrument right away. That is why all that will remain in the domain of hobbies, because it only works when it is done with love and will – the master thinks.
He says he has a few particularly expensive instruments he has made. Let it be dear to him because it is the first, let it be because it is very beautiful, and let it be because it sounds incredible. It happened that for the mentioned reasons he tried to buy some of his violins and leave them to himself, but without success. Namely, the owners did not want to give them up, even when he offered them a much higher price than they paid him.
This creative and talented firefighter is also humane – he repairs violins for children for free.
– The truth is, it is my small contribution to art, the development of young talent and parents whose children play. There are a lot of repairs and otherwise they are very expensive, they require a lot of time, tools and knowledge, but I do not charge for them and I can tell you that this feeling is worth more than money – says the generous Zarko.
At work: Firefighter since 1997
When Dad makes masterpieces
The main “culprit” for becoming a violin master, Žarko’s daughter Vanja, is 22 years old today and is the fourth year of the Academy of Arts. It was her violin with the engraved coat of arms with the initials on it that was his first masterpiece, but she was a girl to understand that.
– She was small when I started making violins, and the children take it for granted – Dad went to the workshop and returned with the violin. As she grew, she became more and more proud. Playing the violin obtained from the hands of a master is a great thing in the world of violins. Even when the master is a dad… He gives all this great charm – our interlocutor points out.
Vanja’s violin is made of wood from 1780, “the year when Maria Theresa died and Miloš Obrenović was born, and it is characterized by a special specific tone”.
-Fierce violin! It is a rarity today to find such an instrument..
It sounds very immodest, but I really haven’t heard a better violin than that. I will hardly make such an instrument again – he is an honest master.
According to her father, the young artist loves “difficult” compositions, those in which there are many challenges. When asked if he often plays for his dad, he answers: “It’s the final year at the Academy of Arts, so it’s mostly practice, and it’s not as pleasant to listen to as when you play the violin. “Parents whose children exercise a lot will understand me.”
Zarko adds that he has another 26-year-old daughter, who has a master’s degree in pharmacy.
Creativity without borders
Like any good master, Žarko claims that with good tools, a lot of will and patience, there are no limits to creativity.
– Everything that the eye sees and the heart desires can be done in an easier or harder way. I make everything that can be made of wood – furniture, violins, kitchens to summer houses. Anything that comes to mind. Wood is the most beautiful material for work, and desires and curiosity move us – he adds.
At work: Firefighter since 1997
Versatile commander
Apart from woodworking, Zarko has various interests. He says he has a lot of hobbies and little time.
– Some need a lot of money. I graduated from the Military Aviation School, so I can fly as a sports pilot and as a parachutist. However, it requires a lot of time and money, so it stays for better times – he says.
When asked if his creativity is manifested in any other way, he answered that he has a lot in the plan “but it will be a different story”.
Convinced and unfaithful Tom
He started working with wood in 1993 to make carpentry for his house. It turned out that he was talented in woodworking, so it became his source of income.
– After that, it was the turn of the violins and, thank God, they are lighter than construction carpentry – he says with a smile.
At first, his colleagues did not believe that something could come out of such a hobby.
– I managed to deny the unfaithful Tom – he adds proudly.
He never played
He says he never played the violin.
– Unfortunately, I didn’t, and since I’ve been dealing with carpentry for a long time, not all my fingers are in the set. The carpenters will know what I’m talking about. So, even if I want to try the violin, I can’t – he calmly explains.
Initials on “debut”
There are few masters
Zarko confirms that the exact number of masters who make violins in Serbia is unknown. Somewhere it says three, somewhere it says five.
– That is how the number of masters in Serbia moves, who are actively building instruments. I would not like to bid on exactly how many there are, but certainly few in relation to Hungary, Austria and other countries in the region.
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