Gerhard Klier

Gerhard Klier’s grandfather, Anton Schrötter, owned a violin shop and workshop in Cheb/Eger. In the 1920s several of Gerhard’s relatives moved to the United States. His uncle, Roman Klier, ended up working for Wurlitzer repairing violins, while Gerhard’s grand uncle, Andrew Schrötter, opened a workshop in New York. Gerhard grew up in in the Czech Republic and went to school in Kraslice/Graslitz, specializing in building musical instruments. After a career in the research and development field at Amati, Gerhard was allowed to emigrate to West Germany in 1967. He settled in Bubenreuth working at the Fuchs workshop which exported violins to Gerhard’s grand uncle Andrew in the United States. He is now a well-recognized violin maker who still experiments with new designs. His latest development is an asymmetric viola.