Rapsodia Musical Instruments Shop, Bucharest

What to buy here: Reghin musical instruments. Price range for violins $83-790, guitars $68-334 and cobza $300.

“The City of Violins”. This is the nickname of Reghin, the Transylvanian town famous for its musical instruments tradition and for the quality of the violins, guitars or cellos produced here. The most famous Romanian industrial producer of musical instruments is Hora, the factory where all contemporary lute makers of Reghin have cut their teeth in the complex craft of making unique and quality musical instruments. At Reghin, the lute making traditions have gone hand in hand with the production of massive wood furniture, hence the insider approach and the special techniques employed in wood treatment. David Oistrach, one of the world’s most acclaimed violin players of all times, noted that the violins created at Reghin have a “rich sound, with a quite dynamic tenure” . So, on your tour in Bucharest, you must by all means visit Hora’s store, Rapsodia, where, alongside violins, cellos, guitars and a varied range of international music instruments, you will find a unique and one hundred per cent Romanian lute: the cobza. Related to the family of mandolins and balalaikas, every specimen of this instrument has to be hand-made, due to the specific shape and technical requirements of its sound box (the body). Almost all Hora’s production is exported, their musical instruments being considered appropriate for study as well as for and hobby practicing. So, don’t think twice if you’re in Bucharest and you need a brand new violin or guitar. You now know where to get it from.