Bénédicte Friedmann was born in Reims, France, in 1974 and throughout the years she has developed top level professional skills. She got her school leaving certificate at Violinmaking International School in Cremona and her teacher was violinmaker Giorgio Scolari, She was awarded Ferraroni prize for the best student and she also received a prize for the best dissertation called “Turpentine and its by-products used for varinishing stringed intruments”. She works in Cremona historical centre, in via S. Giuseppe, 17. GENZINI: Bénédicte, how did you approach the violimaking world? FRIEDMANN: I have always been attracted by the violin; I started playing it when I was a child; I have always been fascinated both by the sound aspect and by the aesthetic features of the instrument; I remember I used to look inside the violin. At 16 I decided to become a violinmaker and I have never changed my mind. I visited several workshops in France so as to understand how my goal could be achieved. I decided to attend a violinmaking school but, though still young, I was over the age limit to attend MIRECOURT school in France. So, I continued my general studies before moving abroad; I got my bachelor degree, then I studied Musicolgy at La Sorbonne University in Paris, where I got my degree with a thesis called “Le quinton et le pardessus de viole à cinq cordes”. I was already in love with violinmaking and I really wanted to study the historical aspect of a little known and neglegted instrument more deeply. In the meantime, music was always an essential part of my life and I got a diploma at the Conservatoire, first of all in violin then in viola. In 1998, when I was 24, I finally moved to Cremona where I got my violinmaking certificate 3 years later. After school, from 2002 till 2007, I did my apprenticeship at Eros Bacellari's workshop; then I opened my own workshop. GENZINI: So, music has played a fundamental role in your choice; how is it important to be able to play instruments? FRIEDMANN. As far as I am concerned, it is essential to be able to play the instrument and appreciate its qualities or understand what has to be improved. I think it is also important to hear the instrument being played , so as to understand how its sound propagates in space . When I make an instrument, I have my objective clear in mind, I perfectly know what I want to reach from an acoustic point of view. I can obtain some effects, especially connected with fitting up, thanks to my music experience, but I am also open to the musicians' suggestions. When a violin is over, I am looking forward to playing it , I am curious; maybe I changed a little something and wish to understand its sound developments, I am interested in details. GENZINI: What models do you usually make? FRIEDMANN: I mainly make Stradivarius 1715 model, with a “clear and brilliant sound” and Guarneri del Gesù model, “dark and sensual “ but endowed with a warm sound. I do not make copies, I rarely use antiqued varnish. In the future, I would like to try new models (considering that they have a remarkable influence on sound) and use oil varnish; I have a lot of ideas and will do my best to put them into practice, if time allows me.