Teacher, orchestra player, collector and owner of a company specializing in tuning and selling musical instruments. As a connoisseur of ancient instruments, Alexander Betz has prepared a special prize for the best participant of the competition — a rare bow made by a Knopf dynasty master. Knopf bows have excellent playing and sound qualities; they are prestigious both among concert musicians and collectors. The master supplied his products to the most famous Russian maker and seller of musical instruments, Nikolai Kittel. Knopf dynasty bows were used by great virtuosos: the Norwegian violinist and composer Ole Bull and the Austrian-Hungarian violinist and composer Joseph Joachim.