The Sound Alchemist’s Journey

Hi. I am Dmitry. And this isn’t about me. It’s about what every serious musician eventually faces: the moment when technical excellence and even impressive CV becomes the baseline, not the exception.

My musical journey began with a rejection that transformed into revelation. The teacher who declared I lacked “aptitude” gave me an unexpected gift-the freedom to forge my own path. While conservatory classmates played prized Italians and J.-B. Vuillaumes were considered mere “student-grade”, I held a crude factory violin, unable to afford instruments that might earn their respect. So I apprenticed under a violin maker and learned to craft my own.

My first violin won a competition diploma, yet the victory felt hollow. I’d become another master copycat in a world drowning in perfect imitations.

The Question That Changed Everything

What if mastery isn’t the destination, but the obstacle? What if personal fulfilment lies not in imitation, but in the freedom to create? ​

Brussels, 1994: As I began seeking lost wisdom, peers mocked, “Trying to outdo Stradivari? Just copy like the rest of us.” Years of self-doubt culminated in me smashing my latest violin against a fireplace-not my proudest moment, but my first honest one. This wasn’t defeat; it was a beginning of something real.

From Master Copycat to Sound Alchemist

Three years later, in a sunlit Mont des Arts bookstore in Brussels, a line from Vitruvius electrified me:

“These are the laws used by skilled workmen who fashion musical instruments to the perfection of their proper concords.”

Instantly, I was transported to 1989 Spain, playing under Rostropovich’s baton in Roman theatre ruins. The sound! That night’s burning question reignited: what secrets did the ancients know?

As Matsuo Basho wrote: “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise; seek what they sought.” I paused my thriving baroque violinist career and stepped into the unknown to find out.

The Old Masters T.O.N.E.S. Technique™

You might think, this decision to bring back a lost cltural tradition, wisdom of centuries was met with excitement and support? Far from that!

No applause, no commissions, only louder ridicule-to pursue that truth.

But the old masters revealed their secret: they measured not in millimeters, but musical intervals; not in inches, but harmonies.

Four decades of research crystallized into a method that builds instruments through harmonic architecture, and wisdom if millennia, not measurements from posters of violins. Sigiswald Kuijken, Ryo Terakado, and Sergey Malov commission these not as “masterpieces,” but as keys to unexplored musical realms.

Why This Matters Now?

In a world where technical brilliance is commoditized, being 5% better won’t cut it, helping musicians to be meaningfully different always will. That’s why I’ve expanded beyond lutherie:

  • Authoring books (including one foreworded by a New York Times bestselling author)
  • Giving masterclasses blending old acoustic science with career strategies of today
  • Mentorship from Andy Harrington (who’s shared stages with presidents and icons)
  • Global training in storytelling and audience-building across four continents

My Invitation

My instruments, teaching, and books exist for one purpose: to help musicians become meaningfully different, not marginally better. Because culture isn’t just consumed-it’s created.

If you’re ready to trade invisible virtuosity for an irreplaceable voice, let’s begin.

Begin Your Journey

p.s. Technical perfection and solid craftsmanship? This goes without drawing your attention to it because it is a matter of course: the finest materials, tools and processes tested by centuries of application, instruments respected by some of the most recognised musicians, plus - that little extra, to help you become extra-ordinary.