I consider Dario Michielon as a friend; I met him last year, when houseofviolin.com had been on line for a few days. He has always helped and supported me. We had a phone talk a couple of days ago and this is a summary of it. GENZINI: Tell me something about your education. MICHIELON: I studied as a chemist in Treviso and finished school in 1992. I studied how to play the contrabas at the conservatoire in Venice for some years. In 2001, following my passion for music, I attended the Violimaking City School in Milan to learn how to make stringed instruments and I got a school leaving certificate with full marks. I did a very demanding apprenticeship in Milan, at Luca Primon's workshop; he had been my teacher at the violinmaking school. At the same time, I also attended several specialization courses on acoustics, fitting, making and varnishing with well-known masters like C. Arcieri, L. Honiet, G. Rabut, H. Nebel. I opened my own workshop in Cremona, at 10 via Sicardo in 2008 and I am mainly concerned with making new violins, violas and cellos. The years I spent in Milan were really hard, both at the City School and during the ensuing apprenticeship. From my master I learnt a lot of aspects which are often underestimated or neglected but which are still part of my present activity: stylistic care, sound research, technique in the use of instruments, careful choice of the most suitable materials. Life as a workshop trainee was not certainly easy: I had to acquire a technique and an “eye” which, of course, you cannot learn at school. Now I work very much, but only after a period of total commitment. My future objectives aim at maintaining a high-quality level, with special attention for acoustic features. I think I have managed to achieve what really makes the difference and what the best musicians usually look for, namely the “beautiful sound” which is warm, deep, rich of harmonics. The result, of course, implies other very complicated aspects like the choice of materials, the “physical structure” of the instrument (the project of its parts), the most effective thicknesses of its components and, last but not least, setting up (bridge soundbox, strings). Therefore, you can understand that, in order to get an excellent result, you have to fit in different elements. As a matter of fact, my purpose is to make “sound machines” for musicians and their art. It is a difficult challenge, but this hardship makes violinmaking so interesting and open to further developments. GENZINI: Do you like Cremona? MICHIELON: Living in Cremona has undoubtedly a lot of advatages. Studying, experimenting and sharing one's own experiences with the best colleagues is part of my daily life. As a matter of fact, the town of Cremona is an immense and endless repository of experiences and violimaking ideas; if you want to lear, you have to look around; moreover, in my working experience I have met and known people endowed with great humanity. Every violinmaker is, first of all, a person sensitive towards people and events. Otherwise, you cannot do a similar job, so linked to what someone feels and is. A violinmaker is present in his instruments, both with his good and bad qualities; there lies the so-called “Italian style”, which is envied by the rest of the world. An instrument is alive and stays alive, if it manages to embody these features and to convey them to those who see or better hear it. Personally, it is hard for me to separate my job from my everyday life. The technique I learnt allows me to make a finished “sound machine”. The rest is, as a friend of mine once said, “pure instinct”. This is how I see my experience in the fascinating and maybe romantic world of violinmaking.