
The Bowmakers
The story of the most important instrument you’ve never heard of.
2019 en 106 minutes
Rating: 9
Plot
This documentary film explores the world of the bow and the extraordinary masters who make them. The bow is the Cinderella of the orchestra—the overworked and overshadowed ally to its more glamorous partners. Few people, even among lovers of classical music, think of the bow as an instrument in its own right, but players of stringed instruments see them differently. To musicians, the bow is as essential to expressing the soul of the music as the violin or cello. The film follows the journey of the “silent servant” of the music world—from the workshops of the virtuosos of the trade, to the birthplace of the bow in France, and to Brazil, home to the imperiled tree from which the world’s finest bows are made.
Trailer
Cast

Charles Espey
Self, bow-maker

Paul Siefried
Self, bow-maker

Robert Morrow
Self, bow-maker

Ole Kanestrom
Self, bow-maker

Cody Kowalski
Self, bow-maker

Stéphane Tomachot
Self, bow-maker

Joséphine Tomachot
Self, bow-maker

Noel Burke
Self, bow-maker

Johnny Gandelsman
Self, violinist, Brooklyn Rider

Colin Jacobsen
Self, violinist, Brooklyn Rider

Nicholas Cords
Self, violist, Brooklyn Rider

Michael Nicolas
Self, cellist, Brooklyn Rider

Joel Link
Self, violinist, Dover Quartet

Bryan Lee
Self, violinist, Dover Quartet

Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt
Self, violist, Dover Quartet

Camden Shaw
Self, cellis, Dover Quartet

Daniel Ching
Self, violinist, Miró Quartet

William Fedkenheuer
Self, violinist, Miró Quartet

John Largess
Self, violist, Miró Quartet

Joshua Gindele
Self, cellist, Miró Quartet

Sean Carpenter
Self, violinist