Zhang Workshop 15 1/2″ Viola

The Zhang workshop viola is signed by Zhang Shu Mei and was made in 2004. It is in excellent condition and is patterned after Cremonese masters. The instrument shows Zhang’s attention to detail and is evident of where he studied violin making. The European tone-woods stand out on this instrument and the one-piece back is beyond gorgeous. The viola is dressed in mother-of-pearl inlay of diamonds and 2.0mm circles. The inlays alternate and are inset between the double purfled edge.
The sound is resonant, it speaks clearly even across all four strings. The viola produces a quick response with a slightly better gram weight viola bow. I was using a 71.8 gram bow and got the instrument to speak differently than that of bows I tried that were at the 70 gram weight area. The viola has powerful sound which continues in higher positions. This instrument is a good choice for the intermediate or advancing player.