Vintage 1953 Dmytro Didtschenko Full Size Viola w/ Case ~ Free Shipping

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Vintage 1953 Dmytro Didtschenko Full Size Viola w/ Case
~ Free Shipping ~
Up for sale today is this Vintage 1953 Dmytro Didtschenko Full Size Viola w/ Nylon Covered Hard Case. This is a very nice quality Viola made by a fantastic luthier with a crazy back story. Dmytro Didtschenko murdered his wife on the steps of the American Natural History Museum and then committed suicide with acid while serving a life sentence without parole.
The viola appears to be in nice condition with sound post in place. The back of the viola looks to have have suffered some cracks emanating from the upper and lower blocks with one crack that spans the entire length of the instrument. The back is a two piece maple and the crack look to be where the two pieces match up. The former owners daughter had told me William Moennig & Sons also did the repairs. The Viola was purchased from William Moennig & Sons in April of 1962 and owned by Jeanne T Fellows. Mrs Fellows graduated Douglass College in 1945 with a degree in music. She furthered her education by attending many courses at Juilliard School of Music and the Westminster Choir College. Jeanne played the violin and viola professionally with the NJ Symphony, Colonial Symphony and the Stretto Chambers Players. She taught violin and viola at Far Brook School in Short Hills for 20 years and started the Suzuki Method program for violin. She also taught violin at the Kent Place School in Summit as well as private lesson in her home. She passed away at the age of 92 in Dec of 2015. after 53 years it is time to let this viola find a new home.
The viola has a Certificate from William Moennig & Sons as well as two letters about the instrument.
Letter 1
"Dear Mrs. Fellows: Thank you very much for your letter. We are delighted that the Didtschenko viola has proven so satisfactory to you. It is, in. deed, an exceptionally fine instrument by an extremely talented craftsman, and it is a pity that the possibility of more instru- ments from his hands is so remote. Your viola was originally sold by us to a talented musician for 0.00, the price which Mr. Didtschenko's violas have always fetched. While on tour in far away Formosa, it was handled roughly and slightly damaged with the result that the instrument had to be dispatched to us for the necessary repairs to restore it to its original fine qualities. We, in turn, sent another instrument to the violist who suffered the loss and rather than again change violas, he retained the one we sent as a replacement and we reacquired the Didtschenko. We feel, in all honesty, that the instrument's fine tone has in no way depreciated and we were delighted that Mr. Wortreich was whole heartedly in agreement with us. It has been completely restored by us and we will fully guarantee any of the repairs which were made to it as a result of its accident. Naturally, a slight price reduction the biatachenzod Jameone 9980% ' insan, bruartainzal dothat in acquiring As you wish, we are enclosing our invoice. I'm sorry we will not have the opportunity to greet you in Philadelphia. We would prefer to receive the empty case from you; in lieu of that, please pack it in a cardboard carton or heavy brown paper and send it to us by parcel post, insured for .00."
Letter 2
Dear Mrs. Fellows: We are indeed indebted to our North Jersey friends for having brought us together and to you for the confidence shown in us. That you are enjoying the Didtschenko immensely, of course, is as it should be and as we would want it. We so very much appreciate your prompt payment for it and we offer you our receipted invoice. Ordinarily on instruments in this price range we do not offer our Certificate of Authenticity, it is only issued on instruments costing above 0.00. However, since we truly believe the Didtschenko is worth that much and more, we are making an exception by offering you our certifica- tion. We do not mind waiting until Mrs. Kautzmann's visit for the return of our case. Why don't you consider accompany- ing her? We hope that this is but the beginning of a long and friendly association.
Dmytro Didtschenko
hand made some top quality instruments with the help of a talented apprentice. The viola was purchased from William Moennig & Sons in April of 1962. The certificate from Moennig was lost but I still have a photo of it with full description. William Moennig was one of the best string instrument shops in the country selling top quality instruments out of Philadelphia PA for 100 years. They closed up in December of 2009. Started by William Heinrich Moennig Sr., the shop was a Philadelphia institution since about 1909. William H. Moennig (1883-1962), had arrived in Philadelphia from Markneukirchen, Germany at the end of the last century. He worked for his brother-in-law, the violin maker Julius Guetter, before opening his own business. His son, William Herman Moennig Jr. (1905-1986), worked in the family business before leaving for Germany, where he studied under Leo Auschauer in Mittenwald and for Paul Dörfel and Paul Knorr in Markneukirchen. He subsequently earned the diploma of Master violin maker, the first American-born violin maker to be so honored.
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