Questions & Answers

The Roth violin company was founded by Gustav Robert Roth in Markneukirchen in 1873. His son, Ernst Heinrich Roth I was born in 1877 and leaned numerous instruments including violin, viola and cello. He had an excellent sense of craftsmanship which he learnt from his father and travelled to Austria, Hunrgary, Russia and France to further improve his skills.

At the age of 25 he developed his own business, alongside his cousin Gustav August Ficker. Their instruments were highly sought after in Germany and France.

Ernst Heinrich Roth had two sons, Gustav Albert and Ernst Heinrich II. Albert learnt the luthier trade from his father whilst Ernst Heinrich Roth II took a different path and studies commerce. He settled in the United States in 1921 where he founded a trading company, Scherl & Roth. It was through this company that Roth instruments came onto the North American market. Many of them can be found to this day.

The Roth company was very successful until the beginning of the Third Reich. The political changes prohibited the sale of fine instruments and the labour force had to be reduced in Markneukirchen.

Albert was conscripted at the beginning of WWII and returned to regenerate the business. The business suffered greatly due to trading out of the soviet occupied areas. Soon after Ernst Heinrich Roth I died and Albert took control of the business. It was unfortunately liquidated on account of breach of regulations.

Albert then moved to the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany and in 1953 the company started trading again. Soon the Roth company was supplying instruments to Europe and the USA again.

Albert died in 1961 and his son Ernst Heinrich Roth III was in charge of the business. He learnt the trade at a college in Bubenreuth from 1953 to 1955 and passed his exams in 1961, just in time to take control of the company. The Ernst Heinrich Roth company is currently managed by Ernst Heinrich Roth III and his son Wilhelm Roth.