January 10, 2024, 8:39 PM · When I got my "nice" violin, I knew I needed to get a special case for it. Something that was protective, but also beautiful.
I dreamed big - I wanted a Musafia - and I pinched some serious pennies to get one! Intermediate Violin Strings
For more than 40 years, Musafia violin cases have been housing some of the most valuable instruments on the planet - Stradivari and del Gesù violins worth millions of dollars, as well as a wide array of fine modern and antique instruments used by concert artists and players all over the world. Crash-tested and designed with special materials for safety, they also offer strong aesthetic appeal, typically lined with velvet and satin, leather handles, brass knobs, and other touches.
Adding to the allure, the cases are all made in Cremona, the same Italian city where the great Antonio Stradivari built his instruments back in the 17th and 18th centuries - a city which has once again emerged as a center of violin-making. In fact, the Cremona City Council for the Arts dubbed Musafia "the Stradivari of violin case makers."
So what is the story behind these fancy violin cases?
Founder Dimitri Musafia - who also happens to be a longtime member and supporter of Violinist.com - recently told me that Musafia was celebrating 40 years in business in 2023. Suddenly I wanted to know the whole story. How did he start this successful company, and why did he decide he wanted to make violin cases?
Dimitri told be about his upbringing, from his childhood in America to his great Italian adventure - going to violin-making school in Cremona as a teenager and then staying there to start his case company. He also shared some highlights - like designing specialty cases for a for Joshua Bell's 1713 "Gibson, ex-Huberman" Strad, for Prince Albert II of Monaco, and for a Stradivari violin associated with the composer Jean Sibelius.
Dimitri Musafia (right) with Joshua Bell and Dimitri's daughter Francesca, who works for the case company. Joshua is on his third Musafia, protecting the 1713 Gibson, ex-Huberman Strad, and has his own personal case model.
From the beginning, Dimitri was connected to classical music. Born in Long Beach, Calif. - his father, the pianist Julien Musafia, named him after the composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Julien, who taught at California State University Long Beach for 33 years, was truly immersed in the music of Shostakovich, writing a definitive version of Shostakovich's "24 Preludes and Fugues" in collaboration with the composer, and serving as Artistic Director of the Shostakovich Festival in Los Angeles.
When it came to music, Dimitri initially started on the piano, "but when I turned eight, my dad felt I wasn’t making enough progress," Dimitri said. "He asked if I would prefer another instrument. 'The trumpet,' I replied. 'Very good, you’ll study the violin,' he said. I continued my violin studies until coming to Cremona."
"While enjoying a modicum of success, playing in chamber groups and for a year being concertmaster of the local orchestra, I got tired of being a mediocre musician and eventually stopped playing," Dimitri said. "Music remains central to my life however, and I remain an avid concertgoer."
How did Dimitri wind up in Cremona? Again, the seeds for that were planted early.
"In 1966, when I was three, my father took my mother and me for a seven-month tour of Europe and North Africa," Dimitri said. "Though on an assistant college professor’s salary, we took delivery of a new Mercedes at the factory in Stuttgart for the trip, stayed in the best hotels, ate in the finest restaurants, and returned by the most luxurious ocean liner of the time, the S.S. France. Imagine that today!"
Part of the expenses for that trip were funded by his father's work as a traveling correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. He regularly sent reports during their trip, and one happened to be from Cremona: regarding the violin making school that was just then spreading its wings after a tumultuous and difficult start in 1938. That school was to become the Antonio Stradivari School of Violin Making.
More than 10 years later, "in June 1978, we did another European tour," Dimitri said. This time it was just Dimitri and his father, with seats in coach on a low-cost airline - not a luxury ocean liner. "We were away for three weeks instead of twice as many months, and we rented a Fiat," Dimitri said. "Oh yes, things had changed."
During a road trip from Milan to Paris, they stopped in Cremona, where they checked in on that violin-making school.
"That evening, in a stuffy hotel room in Padua full of mosquitos, my dad asked me if I would like to go to Cremona to study lutherie," Dimitri said. "I replied 'Why not?' with a teenageresque shrug - I was 15."
Once back in Long Beach, his father wrote to the school. However, no one replied, as it was closed for vacation. He then enlisted a relative living in Milan to help get Dimitri enrolled, and meanwhile Dimitri started getting ready for a big move overseas.
Unfortunately, there was no progress. "September was looming, and still I had not received any formal acceptance to the school," Dimitri said. "Eventually we started to give up hope." When fall rolled around, he simply returned to the 11th grade in Long Beach.
"Finally, one late September evening at about 8 p.m., the doorbell rang," Dimitri said. "It was the postman with a telegram, containing the three words that changed my life forever: 'Dimitri is admitted.'"
Dimitri earned his diploma from the Antonio Stradivari School of Violin Making, but once he had graduated, he started to question whether violin making was his true calling.
"I asked myself if, deep down, violin making was what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life. The essential answer was 'No,'" Dimitri said. "I didn’t want to keep copying the old masters without hope of equalling them, and I knew that any deviation from the standard would not be well-received. I wanted to do things my way, but tradition in violin-making for me was a straitjacket."
So he searched for a parallel field that would allow him to use what he had learned at the violin making school - and at the same time set his creativity free.
Left, Dimitri Musafia. Right, One of the 12 "Enigma Discipulae" cases made, sold sight unseen to collectors by invitation only. It features cultivated Japanese pearls in gold mounting.
"Seeing the boring violin cases being made at the time, it occurred to me that there could be a market for luxury violin cases which combined instrument safety, Italian style, and the German quality of the time," he said.
In other words, Dimitri was not just creating a new product, but also uncovering a new market for that product.
"However, that didn’t deter me," he said. "I knew nothing about case making, and had extremely limited resources. I started Musafia cases in my living room, and the first case I made was cannibalized to make an improved second. The third one that I made was the first that I sold, in 1983, and which is now in my collection."
What was that original case like?
"It is an oblong case that already shows some traits of what would become my hallmark style, with the functional rope cording and the brown-on-color chromatic scheme instead of the usual black-on-color," Dimitri said. "I wanted it to be stylish and original, but practical and protective at the same time. I crash-tested it, dropping it from the second floor balcony into the courtyard, and studied the results."
"The construction was a rather bizarre hybrid, honeycomb section PVC sides bent around the corners and joined with metal rods, with a top and bottom of wood laminate," Dimitri said. "At 4 kilograms and with a flat top, it wasn’t conventional, but it was a start, and in fact I made and sold about 130 of these cases, creatively called the Tipo A."
"I soon realized that if I had to compete on the global market, I had to make a case with a curved lid like all the other cases, so I set about to make the Tipo B. This time – it was 1985 – I was ready to try new technology," Dimitri said. "Once the design was finished, I partnered with a boat building company to experiment with fiberglass, Kevlar, carbon fiber, Coremat, and variations thereof, making no less than 200 test cases. These were all sold to finance the research, long before carbon fiber was a household name. But the results never satisfied me; there was always a trade-off that skewed the resulting quality one way or another.
"In the end, I went back to wood laminate, but now with what I had learned with all the test cases, I knew how to maximize its qualities," he said. "I perfected the laminations, reinforcements and thicknesses over the next 35 years."
While going to great lengths to develop a strong and protective case, Dimitri was equally focused on designing a violin case as a meaningful object - something replete with textures, fine materials, a sense of style and subtle symbolism.
"One of my guidelines is: the closer you look, the more you must see - but only if you are 'in the know.' This is the classic definition of esotericism, which I find not only fascinating, but a wonderful game to play," Dimitri said. "For example, most of my cases have beige bow ribbons. If you look closely, you will see they are woven with a design."
Right, the C-bout of the Hellier Strad; left, Musafia's bow ribbons, with the same design.
"If you look even closer, and you are 'in the know,' you will recognize it as the design of the inlay of the C-bout of the 1679 Hellier Stradivari," he said. "If you look closer yet, you will notice a couple tiny imperfections in the design."
"Why are there imperfections? Why didn’t I just have a graphic artist reproduce the motif and send it to my ribbon supplier to have it woven? Because I preferred to obtain a scan of the original Stradivari autograph template from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and reproduce it faithfully, slight imperfections and all," Dimitri said. "A homage to Stradivari the man, not the legend, but evident only to the truly initiated."
"Depending on the case I am making, esoteric symbolism plays a smaller or greater part," he said. "The case made with the most amount of symbolism was one for the 1694 ex-Halir Stradivari."
The Musafia case made for the 1694 ex-Halir Stradivari violin. In this picture, the violin in the case is not the Strad but instead the violin which belonged to Jean Sibelius himself.
"This violin had a strong connection with Jean Sibelius, so I made a case with an interior including, but not limited to, a series of columns, a starry sky, and the signs of the zodiac, while the bottom padding consisted of 99 black and white square pads each measuring precisely 33 x 33 mm."
"To the casual viewer, the case may look like a meaningless hodgepodge," Dimitri said. "But a Freemason, as was Sibelius, would immediately recognize a Masonic temple complete in detail and proportions, as well as the lavish use of the number three, a fundamental tenet in masonic culture."
Even Musafia's 'usual' cases include a few elements of esoteric symbolism, the most obvious being the Musafia logo, consisting of a croix pattée surrounded by a circle.
"St. George, of dragon-killing fame, never owned a Musafia, but around 1600 years ago he used to associate with St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, who shares my given name. That explains my choice of St. George’s cross, stylized," Dimitri said. "The circle encompassing the cross in my logo instead represents the pursuit of perfection, as defined by writer Dr. Edwin Abbott: a polygon with so many sides as to appear perfectly round, but cannot be such because it would need an infinite number of sides, clearly an impossibility."
Dimitri has made a number of special cases, and last year he was commissioned by the Principality of Monaco to create such a case - valued at $7,000.
"The year 2023 marked the official celebrations of Prince Rainier III of Monaco’s 100th birthday anniversary," Dimitri said. "Rainier III, a lover of the arts, had founded Monte-Carlo’s violin making school, and the students made a beautiful copy of the 1679 Hellier inlaid Stradivari for the event, using mother-of-pearl instead of ivory for the details, owing to CITES concerns. I was asked to provide a case for it."
"I asked if they wanted a normal case, or if they would give me free rein to create something truly special; they agreed to the latter," Dimitri said. "So I set upon the task of creating a case which, through symbolism, would express via design, materials and colors the many qualities and achievements of Prince Rainier, who had brought Monaco out of a post-war crisis to the fabled riches of today. Along with the case was a hard-bound book explaining this symbolism."
Dimitri presents the special case ordered by the Rainier III Academy of Monte Carlo to HRH Prince Albert II of Monaco on June 14, 2023 in Monte Carlo.
During the time that Dimitri has been building his cases in Cremona, he has seen a re-emergence of violin-making as a core industry in the city.
"Over 40 years, I’ve seen violin-making in Cremona morph from a very personal pursuit, mostly with a single maker in the shop, to businesses with employees," Dimitri said. "In a sense, this harks back to the times of Amati, where Nicolò employed the likes of Andrea Guarneri, Mathias Klotz, and perhaps even Stradivari himself, judging by that famous label dated 1666. But it is also the result of a modern business world which is increasingly complicated and regulated, to the point that bureaucracy is making a one-man shop increasingly impossible to exist. "
"One result of this is the greater output of workshop instruments, which offer a fine alternative to the 'master instruments' for those on a student budget. These are instruments made by the employees under the guidance of the master luthier, thus giving a certain guarantee of quality."
"But perhaps the biggest change for Cremona violin-making over the past 40 years is the sheer number of violin makers," he said. "In 1982, there were about 35 registered makers in Cremona, today there are 157 workshops."
A custom case, made using three Tiffany scarves, supplied by a client, whose name was... Tiffany! The cost of each scarf alone was more than a lot of people pay for their violin cases."
And so what are the lessons, from 40 years in business?
"There are three fundamentals. First, that quality is the only way to compete. There is always someone out there who can offer a lower price, so striving to provide only the very best, whatever it takes, is the path to success," Dimitri said. "Making something that no one else is able to, and continually improving it, is the way to gain a loyal following and ensure lasting market favor."
"Second, that resting on one’s laurels is not an option: without continuing research and improvement even the most established product line will go out of favor," he said. "Innovation is essential to survival, also because clients’ expectations are always more demanding."
The world's first "smart case" prototype (2006) which monitored temperature, humidity, shocks, and provided geo-location to the owner, all via an online cellular connection.
"This is not limited to the field of violin cases, of course," he said, "imagine trying to sell automobiles today without power steering, power windows, speaker-phone or airbags. In 1976 our family car had none of these, and yet at the time many such cars were sold."
"Third, but definitely not last, quality and efficiency cannot be obtained without a well-trained, motivated, and stable workforce, which must be carefully nurtured," Dimitri said. "Laurits Th. Larsen, the founder of the string-making company that bears his name, once met me at a trade show where my cases were exhibited. He took a long look at one of the higher-end models, and finally asked me, 'Dimitri, how do you get your employees to make a product like this?' The answer is that Musafia cases would not be possible without my truly excellent team."
And what is next for Musafia?
"My spiritual guide in business is Enzo Ferrari. Once he was asked which Ferrari model was the best, and he answered 'the next one,'" Dimitri said. "My practical guide for business is the reflection a close friend made once, 'As we age, so do our ideas' - an offhand comment which wholly contains a truth that even the great Enzo himself was unable to escape."
"Each year a couple dozen modifications are made to our production, and one source of inspiration comes from our maintenance and repair program, which allows us to see first-hand how our cases age over the years and what can be improved to increase their longevity and thus their instrument protection."
"A recent innovation was when we managed to integrate Kevlar, a lightweight woven synthetic material used in bullet-proof vests and armored vehicles, into our wood laminate case shells to combine the best qualities of both materials," he said. "We didn’t have to do it, but we did and we are the only case makers to use this system."
"What’s next for Musafia? I can only answer that the quest for perfection is infinite," Dimitri said. "But then, that’s what makes it interesting!"
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January 11, 2024 at 04:19 PM · Excellent interview, Laurie. Like you, a new violin led me to search for the best protection. Every time I open my Musafia I marvel at the blend of precision and art.
January 11, 2024 at 07:58 PM · The "trumpet/violin" anecdote is priceless! And the "Enigma Discipulae" case pictured is worthy of a museum display. It is stunning! Laurie, thanks for this wonderful and inspiring interview!
January 11, 2024 at 11:23 PM · One of the best blogs ever. Has a lot to do with the subject I think. Actually, whenever I have a problem in life I ask myself ‘What would Dimitri do?’ I have yet to find the answer but it is very comforting…
PS I would like to see a model called ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Last Case.’
January 13, 2024 at 01:19 AM · Ohhh, now I *really* want a Musafia case. Well, I can dream, anyway.
January 14, 2024 at 05:29 PM · I have had my case for about 15 years, and like Laurie, it took awhile to save for it. After I ordered it, the company contacted me that due to differences in shades, my color choices were not going to look as I probably imagined and maybe I should choose something else. I was so grateful to not be stuck with an expensive, ugly case! I also learned from a friend who had his for many years, that if a part wears out, it will be repaired at no cost.
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Discover the best of Violinist.com in these collections of editor Laurie Niles' exclusive interviews.
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn
Viola String Instruments Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine