William Salchow cello bow

Renowned American bowmaker William Salchow (1926-2014) was born in Detroit, Michigan, where he began his musical studies on piano and cello. After serving in World War II, Salchow returned to the United States to study at the Juilliard School with cellists Leonard Rose and Bernard Greenhouse. In 1955, after visiting the famous Wurlitzer violin shop near Carnegie Hall, Salchow became interested in bow making and began an apprenticeship under bow maker Frank Passa and violin restorer Simone Sacconi. At the Wurlitzer shop, he worked alongside many of the world's future experts including Jacques Français and René Morel. In 1956, Salchow traveled to Mirecourt, France on a Fulbright scholarship to work with Georges Barjonnet-a protegé of Eugène Cuniot-Hury and Émile François Ouchard. Returning to New York City, Salchow established his own workshop in 1960, where his son Stephen Salchow and grandson Isaac Salchow also trained to become bow makers.

William Salchow contributed greatly to the growth of bow making in America, influencing many of today's leading bow makers including Michael Yeats, George Rubino, Lee Guthrie, Roger Zabinski, David Hawthorne, and numerous others who studied at the bow-making classes Salchow taught at the University of New Hampshire. Prominent performers who have owned Salchow bows include Isaac Stern, Nathan Milstein, Itzhak Perlman, Pamela Frank, Glenn Dicterow, Arnold Steinhardt, YoYo Ma, Leonard Rose, Bernard Greenhouse, Zara Nelsova, and Ani and Ida Kavafian.

Today, the Salchow & Sons bow workshop continues under the direction of Isaac Salchow, and the rosin recipe Salchow developed in the 1970s remains a favorite among string players worldwide.