Sámuel Nemessányi (12 January 1837, in Verbicz-Hušták, Liptószentmiklós, Liptó County – 5 March 1881, Budapest) was a Hungarian luthier, a maker of stringed instruments, such as: violins, violas, and cellos. Nemessányi is considered the most talented and important maker in the Hungarian violin-making school. During his lifetime, he was already acknowledged as the most outstanding craftsmen of stringed instruments in all of Hungary and his instruments are of great importance to Hungarians. His life and work strikingly parallel that of Italian luthier Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù.
Early life
Not much is known about Nemessányi's early life. His middle name of Félix is thought to be wrong, as it does not appear in any known documentation (marriage or birth certificate). It was assumed that he was born in Eperjes (now Prešov, Slovakia), but it is now known that Nemessányi was indeed born in Liptószentmiklós (now Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia) to the son of an impoverished shoemaker. His father had urged young Samuel to take up glass blowing, but found that his interest lay in working with wood. At the age of 18, he moved to Pest to learn carpentry and cabinet making.
By a stroke of luck, the workshop where he served his apprenticeship was very close to the violin shop of noted German luthier Johann Baptist Schweitzer. Nemessányi then met Thomas Zach, an assistant to Schweitzer and also a talented maker himself. In April 1855, impressed by Nemessányi's skill with woodworking, Zach took the talented young man as his apprentice and Nemessányi began his training in the most regarded violin shop by the most famous luthiers in Hungary.
Nemessányi's talent developed remarkably under the guidance of his mentors and due to his exceptionally quick progress, he managed to finish the usual 4-year apprenticeship in only 3 years. On May 4, 1858, following the advice of his mentors, he traveled to Prague to meet with Hungarian maker Anton Sitt, a former Schweitzer pupil himself. At Sitt's shop, Nemessányi had the opportunity to examine and repair many fine, old Italian instruments. After spending a year working with Sitt, Nemessányi returned to Hungary a master of his craft at the age of 22.
Middle years
Nemessányi moved to Szeged where he found his first wife. He was married on January 21, 1861 to the 18-year-old Anne Boldizsár. He was well-liked in Szeged and he enjoyed profitable working conditions. Being the restless character that he was, he was soon dissatisfied with the quiet of Szeged. He gathered all his tools and moved his family around from town to town, such as Pécs (Fünfkirchen), working for varied lengths of time in each.
Upon receiving an invitation, Nemessányi uprooted his family once more and moved to Pest, where his reputation as a violin maker was growing. On April 4, 1863, he received his masters diploma from the Pest Musical Instrument Maker's Guild and was accepted as a member. The Nemessányi's moved to 7, Hajó St. (today's Fehér Hajó St.) which was formerly the property of deceased violin maker, Franz Tischenant.
The music scene in Pest was rapidly expanding, thus giving Nemessányi an opportunity to further develop his work. He soon was able to move to a better location at 4, Gránátos St. where he soon became overwhelmed with repairs and orders for new instruments by artists, gypsy violinists, and wealthy amateurs. Nemessányi profited greatly from his work but also received additional support from his father-in-law. Nemessányi was overly generous, usually borrowing money to poor friends which led to a constant lack of it. What few funds remained were spent on his excessive taste for wine, which would eventually become his fatal vice.
In May 1870, Nemessányi's young wife died and his love of adventure and preference for wine suddenly stopped. His four children were taken into custody by their grandparents in Szeged. It was during this period that Nemessányi took on two apprentices: Karl Hermann Voigt and Béla Szepessy. Voigt only stayed with Nemessányi for a year, returning to Vienna soon after. He was replaced by Eduard Bartek, a talented young man. It was not long before Nemessányi took a liking to Bartek's sister, Anna. They were wed in Szeged in 1872 with the support of the Boldizsárs.