Night gives you more concentration.
It's actually better light for making certain parts of the violin.
My name is Alex Laskutov and I'm a violin maker, also known as Lutier.
I've been making violins, I would say, for ten years.
For me, it's a form of art, because every time I do something, it's different creation.
I was very curious about the construction, how it's built, where the sound comes from.
When I was around 10 or 11, I became really curious about...
I'm playing the violin, but why?
Why is there a bridge? Why are there pegs? Why are there f-holes?
What's happening inside the violin that was really curious?
The first contact with Lutier was through my father, who introduced me to his friend,
who was a professional Lutier, the violin maker, in the same city where we were living at that time.
I entered into the magic world of this varnishes, smells, all those roots, tops and backs,
and the actual violin maker sitting there in the corner.
I spoke with Lutier, asking him, oh, how can he do the bridge and what it's made from?
He said, well, why don't you sit there and try to do the bridge?
And that's how it started.
I feel really connected with the shape of the violin, because there's something, some kind of magic there.
The structure of the wood, I can watch that structure for hours and hours, analyzing it, why,
and how the sound will come.
The wood is actually a natural material.
If you go five or six hundred years ago, it was traditionally made by hand.
That connection between the human being and the wood makes it...
Maybe gone from this world, I leave everything behind.
It's me and the wood itself.
Nothing else exists around me.
I love to work with wood and creating art, making violins.
