Jan Kužel

About

Jan Kužel was born in Brno in 1979. He trained under his father, master Vilém Kužel, and passed his final exams in 1996 at the musical instrument school in Luby u Chebu. Until the end of 2001 he worked with his father in the workshop in Kopečná Street; since 2002 he has had his own workshop in Čajkovského Street in Brno-Žabovřesky, continuing a centuries-old tradition of Brno violin makers.

He makes new violins, violas and cellos, mostly on Guarneri and Stradivari models, and also restores and repairs instruments. At the 1997 Věnceslav Metelka competition in Náchod he received diplomas for a violin and for the carving of a scroll; he has also competed in Paris (1999) and Poznań (2001), where he reached the second round. In 2005 the Brno Philharmonic bought one of his violins, and since 2008 Kateřina Štruncová (Javory, Cimbal Classic) has played one of them.

He has been a member of the Circle of Czech Master Violinmakers since 2005 and has sat on its committee since 2016. He himself plays in several folk and cimbalom bands.