Reinhard von Nagel

Reinhard von Nagel (b. 13 August 1936, Mannheim) is a German harpsichord maker, restorer, and proprietor of Atelier von Nagel in Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Paris, established in 1963. Nagel graduated from Academie Musicale De Villecroze in 1999. His firm shipped over 1000 harpsichords to date, including models decorated by notable contemporary painters like Marc Chagall, Pierre Alechinsky, and Olivier Debré. Nagel started his career in Paris as a cabinet maker; gradually, he became interested in musical instruments. In 1970, Reinhard produced his first antique replicas in collaboration with Hubert Bédard (1933—1989). The following year, he joined forces with renowned American maker William Dowd (1922—2008), licensing a few of his models, built and sold under the "William Dowd — Paris" brand. The first harpsichord, based on Pascal Taskin's 1770 model, was completed in May 1972, inaugurated by William Christie with a solo recital at Nagel's workshop. (Over the next thirteen years, Reinhard von Nagel produced around 250 instruments under the Dowd brand; after his retirement in 1985, Nagel adopted his personal inscription.) The "Concerts at Les Copeaux" at Atelier von Nagel became an ongoing tradition, featuring numerous harpsichordists, Baroque chamber musicians, and vocalists over the years, including Scott Ross (4), Colin Tilney, Judith Nelson (2), Carol Plantamura with The Five Centuries Ensemble, Marijke Verberne, John Whitelaw (2) with Karl Lenski, Ricardo Kanji, Willem de Leeuw, Don Angle, Arthur Haas, Martha McGaughey, Emer Buckley with Isabelle Poulenard, Agnès Mellon with Christophe Coin, Béatrice Berstel, Michèle Dévérité with Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Edward Smith (5), Cremilde Rosado Fernandes, and, most recently in December 2013, Les Musiciens De Saint-Julien under François Lazarevitch.