"My violin bow from Mr. Pfau – a classical model of Leonhard Tourte - has been a constant companion during my work as a musician. I am convinced by its especially flexible and round tone. It gives me gentle and strong acoustic colours with little effort. That makes it really useful for solo and chamber music, because it reacts quickly and is not at all complicated to handle.
I have rarely experienced a classical bow that can be so multifunctional. Out of strong belief in these bows and because of a close cooperation and communication about sound, I have recommended them to many of my students. They are very, very happy with them, too.
Sincerely,
Sebastian Hamann"
"I’m using three of Rüdiger Pfau’s cello bows with a lot of pleasure. One of them is a copy of my bow by Nicolas Maire from 1850. The others are his own models and one of them is a classical bow.
All three bows are handcrafted to an extraordinary aesthetic degree. Their sound and feel are also very special. The bows nestle into the strings but at the same time they are not unstable, so they offer the opportunity to grip the stick with passion and power.
To put it in one sentence: With the bows of Rudi Pfau I’m finally able to turn my ideas about a beautiful cello sound into reality."
When I first tested bows by Rüdiger Pfau in 2002 I bought them straight away. They were both baroque and classical bows. The classical bows fascinated me immediately because they simply work much better than modern bows in their repertoire. They articulate faster and more precisely and afford a focused yet rich tone.
What I noticed then and still today I see as a great blessing; with these bows you produce a sound just as you intended it and not by chance or accidentally. String crossing in particular is very simple. The very same applies in the case of his baroque bows.
The bows of Mr. Pfau have their own character because I’m able to play them in a strong way, or to put it in differently: they have “teeth” and therefore they are greatly suited to soloistic playing, especially for violinists who play both classic-romantic and baroque music.
The longer you play and the more you play, the “old” bows open up a different way of playing and the individual spirit of the past, as well as the opportunity to study and explore something new, which is fun to do, even after many years of playing.
When Rüdiger Pfau turned again to the construction of modern bows, I tried them immediately and I was also impressed by them. Their sound fits perfectly with my own violin and they make a round and full tone, which is also stimulating and rich in overtones. The moderate weight of 60 gram is very useful.
Concerning technique, everything is possible with this bow – it has exactly the perfect mix of stable and flexible characteristics. Besides that, the bows look beautiful! All these facts mean that I have six of Rüdiger Pfau’s bows – baroque, classical and modern bows. I use them with only few exceptions each time I play.
I’m very glad that I got to know the bows of Rüdiger Pfau and I appreciate our regular conversations when we talk about my wishes and I can feel understood.
"The copy of a Pecatte-bow worked out perfectly. I play it with a lot of passion and get inspired easily by it. The copies of a baroque violin bow are excellent, so that they open up the possibility of a journey into a whole new world of sound."