Stradivarius. 10 Fun Facts About His Life & Work

By Andy Fein, Luthier, Fein Violins, Ltd.

Stradivarius. So much of my life is wrapped around learning what he did, how he did it, and maybe even why he did it. Sometimes when I'm working on an instrument, I feel like I'm having a conversation with Stradivarius. Partly with words and partly with the way I work a piece of wood for a violin. Here are some things you may or may not know about him.

A Strad, a Mobster, and a Priest

By Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins
Martha McDermott and Miranda Crawford

Recently, I read a news story about a former priest pleading guilty to helping his mobster friend find a supposed Stradivarius hidden inside a wall of a home in Wisconsin. My inner ears perked up! What could be a better story? The Mafia, a supposed Stradivarius hidden inside a wall, a corrupt priest, a few hundred thousand dollars (in cash, of course), a bunch of loose diamonds, FBI raids, and a heartfelt confession. Sounds too good to be true. But it is!

Frank Calalbrese, Sr.

Stradivarius At His Peak, 1715

By Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins 
and Martha McDermott

This year, 2015, marks three hundred years since Antonius Stradivarius hit his peak in craftsmanship and tone quality. That's not just my humble opinion. The period around the year 1715 is called Stradivarius' "Golden Period".

1715 'Hochstein' Violin

 Antonius Stradivarius had been working on violins for about fifty years, he was in his seventies and still very healthy, and he had hit upon a model for his violins that combined the best of tone, playability, and projection.

Old and Not In the Way, Part I, Guarneri Family Instruments

By Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins

 and staff

In our first installment of Old and Not In the Way, let's take look at the string instruments of the Guarneri family. 

The scroll of the 1697 'Primrose' Andrea Guarneri viola

The Guarneri family gave rise to Joseph Guarneri del Gesu, generally considered as good, or better, a violin maker as Stradivarius. Where did he come from?

Title Bout: Guarneri del Gesu versus Stradivari. Which is Best?

Written by Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins,
and Kevin Berdine

Be careful what you ask for. This morning, while taking photos (to send to a customer) of an Atelier Cremone del Gesu model, I asked Andy "what's the difference between the models of del Gesu and Stradivari?" And, in Andy's usual fashion he exclaimed "Great idea! You have figured out your next blog posting!" Then he showed me some resources and sent me on my way.

1703 "Lady Harmsworth" Stradivari

1743 "Il Cannone" Guarneri del Gesu

The violins of del Gesu and Stradivari are at the utmost pinnacle of violin making. Each innovated violin making and broke away from the highly arched traditional forms of Stainer and Amati. Interestingly, however, the strides that both makers achieved were completely different from one another. Stradivari is known to have executed his violins with extreme physical elegance. Because of their extreme beauty, Stradivari's violins were immediately sought out by the courts and nobility of Europe. A Desiderio Arisi manuscript, written in 1720, lists many nobility, from princes and dukes, among those who purchased instruments from Stradivari. In contrast, del Gesu's instruments were rougher and much more unique. Each instrument left the shop with a much more adventurous design. Although rougher in design and workmanship, his instruments yielded a wonderful tonal palette that was both beautiful and powerful. His instruments, unlike Stradivari, were used by the the common musician who required a great sound without the high price tag.

French Influence On Italian Violin-Making

By Matt Lammers and Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins

Many years ago I (Andy) was visiting the old Jacques Francais violin shop in New York and examining an Annibale Fagnola violin with the famous restorer and violin expert Rene' Morel. He held the violin up, looked directly at the scroll and exclaimed, "Isn't it remarkable how much the Italian makers learned from the French?"

A violin by Annibale Fagnola, Turin, circa 1925

What are Violins, Violas, & Cellos Made Of?

By Matt Lammers and Andy Fein

A friend of ours on Facebook recently sent us a message and asked, "what wood works best for different parts of the cello, and why?" So we sat down at the computer, as is our routine for questions of this sort, to pull up a link to our blog entry about instrument materials. Wouldn't you know it, we didn't have one!

This is a question that often confuses instrument buyers and string players alike. The falsely satisfactory conclusion, "they're made of wood, except for the strings; I think they're steel," is too often drawn in response to an issue that is far more in depth than that.

In one sense, though, the answer is quite simple and almost always consistent for modern violins, violas, and cellos- Maple is used for the back, sides and neck; Spruce is used for the top and the fingerboard is made from Ebony. But Spruce and Maple are broad categories of trees that encompass several species. The species of wood is the primary variable concerning sound, visual aesthetic, and durability, however the wood's age, grain structure, and cut style, also play pivotal roles in these attributes.

Good wood choice makes a fine violin pleasing to the eye, but even more so to the ear

The Strad Disaster: Spanish Cello Damaged During Photo Shoot

By Matt Lammers and Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins

As of a little over three weeks ago the Spanish Royal Palace is faced with a problem that has classical musicians everywhere cringing: the 1694 Stradivarius cello known as the "Spanish" was severely damaged during a routine photo shoot. While the cello was being positioned alongside its counterparts, the two violins and viola of the "Spanish Quartet," it was knocked off its side from a table onto the floor.

Vera Martinez, Abel Tomas (violins), Jonathan Brown (viola), and Arnau Tomas (cello) of the Casals Quartet, who currently perform using Stradivarius' Spanish Quartet

image from the Casals Quartet website

Joshua Bell and Towel-Wearing Hotel Thief

By Stefan Aune of Fein Violins


World renowned violin soloist Joshua Bell, known for his distinctive good looks, was recently the victim of a daring hotel room robbery. While performing in the town of Zaragoza, Spain with the London Philharmonic, Bell stayed in a 5-star hotel room. During Bell's evening performance with the orchestra, an impersonator managed to convince hotel staff that he was Bell, and having lost his keys, needed help accessing his room.

The robber must have been good looking, if he managed to impersonate Joshua Bell

Once in the room, the Bell impersonator took off his clothes and donned a towel. He then contacted the front desk, complaining that he was having difficulty accessing the room safe. When a hotel representative arrived at the door, the thief answered wearing the towel, and his casual, just-out-of-the-shower appearance convinced the staff person that an ID check was unnecessary. Once the hotel representative had opened the safe, the thief cleaned it out, stealing Bell's $38,000 watch, a laptop, cash, and other personal belongings.

Joshua Bell performing

In a statement, Bell said he was "amazed at how easy it was for this to occur," and he's probably right that security should have been tighter. But we can at least be thankful that his 4$ million dollar Stradivarius, the Gibson ex-Huberman, was safety tucked under his chin during a performance, rather than resting in the hotel room. It would be a tragedy if Joshua Bell lost the instrument he so masterfully performs on. We can probably rest assured that security is a bit tighter at the hotel in Zaragoza, and hopefully the naked-towel thief won't be able to strike again.

Are you a violinist or interested in becoming one? Check out our Fine Violins
www.FineViolins.com

Antonio Stradivari's Cellos

By Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins

If you have read some of my past blog posts, you probably realize I love Stradivarius violins. But it is Stradivarius' cellos that I am enamored with. I really love Stradivarius cellos. I really, really, love Stradivarius cellos.

The first Stradivarius cello I encountered is the one that has stuck in my memory for decades. The 'Braga' cello, made by Stradivarius in Cremona about 1731. The 'Braga' is currently played by the wonderful Korean cellist Myung-Wha Chung. It is one of the few cellos that was made on the smaller scale form that Stradivarius developed, the 'Forma B Piccola'. While I was in my apprenticeship in Chicago, Kenneth Warren, Sr. brought the 'Braga' cello to us to examine. I took the opportunity to spend an immense amount of time with it. OK, I fell in love with it!

Steven Isserlis and his Stradivarius cello

The National Music Museum - Home to the Works of Stradivarius, Guarnerius, Amati, and More

By Stefan Aune

If you've ever searched for information on instruments by the great violin-makers, chances are you came across the website for the National Music Museum, part of the University of South Dakota at Vermillion. This unassuming museum located far from the great artistic centers houses the preeminent collection of musical instruments in the world. Of particular interest is their amazing collection of stringed instruments by Stradivarius, Guarnerius, and three generations of Amati makers. Many of these instruments were crafted in the 1500's and 1600's. They represent the literal genesis of modern stringed instruments, and their presence in the National Music Museum's collection was the primary factor in the museum's incredible growth over the last 40 years.

National Music Museum

The National Music Museum was founded in 1973, and houses more than 15,000 instruments from all corners of the world. Highlights include some of the earliest known grand pianos, a collection of early brass instruments from Elkhart, Indiana, early Dutch and German woodwind instruments, and a collection of early Italian stringed instruments from Cremona that are found in the Witten-Rawlins collection. This collection was compiled primarily by a Yale-educated bookseller from Southport, Connecticut, Laurence C. Witten, and represents a snapshot of the violin's origins in northern Italy.  

The Andrea Amati "King" Cello

Some of the highlights of the Witten-Rawlins collection of stringed instruments include the Andrea Amati "King" cello, the oldest surviving bass-register instrument of the violin family. Built as early as 1538, the cello was updated and painted in 1560 as part of its inclusion in a collection of instruments sold to the French court of King Charles IX. Only a few of the instruments from the collection survived the French Revolution, and the "King" cello is one of them. Check out more images of this fabulously painted instrument here.

Center bass-rib of the "King" Cello

Another highlight of the Witten-Rawlins collection is a tenor viola made by Andrea Guarneri in 1664. This viola has the distinction of being one of three Cremonese instruments that have survived, unaltered, to the present day. The National Music Museum also owns the other two unaltered Cremonese instruments, a Girolamo Amati violino picccolo, and the Medici tenor viola by Stradivarius, made in 1690. All three instruments retain their original dimensions, as well as their original tuning pegs, scroll, nut, fingerboard, saddle, button, tailpiece, and bass-bar. These instruments provide incredible insight into the work that the classic Cremonese makers were doing hundreds of years ago. It is amazing that they have survived in an unaltered state to the present day, so take a moment to check out each instrument's page. 

Tenor viola by Andrea Guarneri, 1664

Girolamo Amati violino piccolo, 1613

The National Music Museum also has an incredible collection of instrument labels and luthier tools, including patterns, clamps, calipers, dividers, blocks, groove cutters and soundposts setters. Listings, descriptions, and pictures of the items in the Witten-Rawlins collection can be found here, and I would encourage you to browse through and see some amazing pictures of priceless stringed instruments. 

Arching. Great Curves!

By Andy Fein, Violin Maker and Owner, Fein Violins, Ltd.

Take a sidelong look at your violin, viola or cello. You'll notice that the top and the back are not flat. In fact, they have pretty complicated curves rounding up side to side and from the neck to under the tailpiece. Those curves are called the arching of your instrument.

A view of the arching of an Andreas Guarnerius viola

Bernard Greenhouse and the auctioning of the Countess of Stainlein / Paganini Stradivarius Cello

By Stefan Aune

The famous "Countess of Stainlein, ex-Paganini of 1707" Stradivarius cello that was owned by the late Bernard Greenhouse has been sold at auction for more than $6 million to an anonymous patron of the arts in Montreal. This auction most likely sets a new record for the sale of a cello, the previous record being about $5 million. The cello, which was made by Stradivarius during his prolific "golden period," has been played on by Bernard Greenhouse since the 1950's. Greenhouse passed away in May of 2011, and his family arranged to sell his cello via sealed auction through Reuning & Sons Violins in Boston. The "anonymous patron" plans to loan the cello to 18 year old Stéphane Tétreault, a student studying cello and conducting at the University of Montreal.

The Countess of Stainlein, ex-Paganini Stradivarius (allthingsstrings.com)

The Countess of Stainlein, Paganini Stradivarius cello, Cremona, 1707

Cremona after Stradivarius

By Andy Fein, Owner and Violin Maker, Fein Violins, Ltd.

The greatest era of violin making in Cremona from the late 1600s to the mid 1700s saw the life and work of Antonius Stradivarius, two of Stradivarius' sons- Omobono and Francesco, Guarnerius del Gesu, Giuseppe Guarnerius filius Andrea, and Carlo Bergonzi. In a strange and unfortunate twist of fate, all of these makers died within a ten year span. Antonius Stradivarius died in 1737, his sons in 1742 and 1743, Giuseppe filius Andreas in 1739, del Gesu in 1744, and Carlo Bergonzi in 1747.

Scroll of a violin by Lorenzo Storioni, Cremona circa  1793

Violin makers carried on in Cremona, but they did not reach the same heights of fame as their predecessors. Who were these makers? While these makers did not achieve the glory of the Golden Period of violin making in Cremona, there are certainly some very fine luthiers in their ranks.

A viola by Nicola Bergonzi, made in Cremona circa 1781

Erica Morini and the Davidoff Stradivarius

By Andy Fein, Violin Maker and Owner, Fein Violins, Ltd.

In this era of so many great women violin soloists, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Rachel Barton Pine, Hilary Hahn, Lara St. John, Anne Akiko Meyers, Sarah Chang, Midori, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and many others, it's hard to imagine a time when being a woman violinist and trying to make it as a soloist was very, very difficult. Solely because you were female!

That time was not very long ago. The first half of the twentieth century was a rough time for women violinists and it stayed that way at least through the 1960s!

Nicolo Amati, Violin Maker Extraordinaire & Teacher of the Greats

By Andy Fein,  Luthier at Fein Violins
and  Stefan Aune, with image research help by Elijah Fein

In The Amati Family of Violin Makers we introduced Andrea Amati and his sons Antonio and Hieronymus. These early makers established the Amati family and the city of Cremona, Italy as preeminate violin making institutions, and Hieronymus' fifth son, Nicolò, would build on this reputation and become the greatest maker of the Amati family, producing amazing instruments and training several of the most famous makers in history.

A violin by Nicolo Amati, Cremona,Itay, 1628

image from the National Music Museum

Chanot-Chardon: The Violin-Making Soap Opera Family

Written by Stefan Aune of Fein Violins

The Chanot-Chardon family of French and English violin makers trace their origins to Joseph Chanot, the first member of the family to add violin-maker as a profession. Joseph ran a small shop in Mirecourt, France, and the first violins that feature his label were produced in 1790. Joseph was a violin-maker, tradesman, and a farmer; a triple threat of vocations made necessary by his twelve children (that's quite a few mouths to feed). Two of Joseph's sons would follow in their father's footsteps and establish the Chanot name among the elite of French violin makers. The eldest, Francois, studied mathematics in Paris, graduating from the Ecole Polytechnique. He went on to specialize in the construction of naval war-ships, before taking an interest in violin making, albeit from a very scientific point of view. His thesis, titled (translated from French) "To Fix the Method a Violin Maker Must Use in the Workmanship of Stringed and Bowed Instruments" was accepted by a committee of experts and professional Alexandre Boucher played on the instrument built to Francois' specifications. Francois would go on to present a second thesis on instrument construction, and had the opportunity to present his research to the King of France during an exhibition. His forms were eventually taken up by the violin firm "Lete's Widow & Payonne," where they were used by the a young Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, who would go on to become an internationally renowned violin maker and a close friend of the Chanot family.

The Chanot shop in Paris
Picture from Parisian Violin Makers in the XIXth and XXth Centuries, Tome 1: The Family Chanot-Chardon by Sylvette Milliot

The youngest son, Georges, apprenticed with his father before joining Francois in the capital. He worked for a succession of Parisian makers before opening his own shop, founded in 1821. Georges was joined by his pupil Florentine Demolliens,  a 24 year old woman whose position as a violin maker caused a bit of a sensation, as women traditionally did not make violins at that point in history. Georges and Florentine eventually married, after having several children out of wed-lock, and the children were all legitimized together through baptism after the marriage. Wishing to get his name out there, Georges spent seven years traveling to Spain, Portugal, Germany, and England, and Russia, where he cultivated relationships with other makers and gained many international clients. His most notable customer was Tarisio, to whom he sold several highly skilled copies of Stradivarius and Guarnerius violins. In 1840, his wife and business partner Flornetine became ill, retiring to the countryside where she was cared for by her maid, Rose Chardon. Roses' sister, Antoineette Chardon, traveled to Paris to help Georges with the business. Their working relationship blossomed into some thing more, and Georges and Antoinette would eventually have a son together, Marie-Joseph Chardon. In the baptism act, Georges was named the godfather, and it wasn't until adulthood that Joseph learned that Georges was in fact his father. He would carry the family name Chardon, and pass it on to his children.

The Gagliano Violin Makers: The Pride of Naples

By Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins
and Ivana Truong

What if you're a budding superstar violin soloist or concertmaster and you can't come up with a few million dollars for a Stradivarius or a Guarnerius del Gesu to power your playing career onto the world stage?

You could save a few nickels and consider one of the somewhat lesser Cremonese instruments like a Guadagnini or one of the other Guarneris. The best of those instruments are equal or better in tone than some of the lesser Stradivaris and del Gesus. Heresy, I know, but there are soloists that don't use Strads & del Gesus and they are quite happy.

Another alternative is to take a turn to the South and play some of the finest violins from Naples made by members of the Gagliano family.

Violin by Alessandro Gagliano, made in Naples,  circa 1715

Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Violin Maker of Piacenza, Milan, Cremona, Parma & Turin

Written by Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins
& Angie Newgren

Italy's Po River Valley figures prominently in the history of great violin-makers, as well as the Fein family history.

The towns of Cremona, Piacenza, Parma, Milan, and Turin are all beautiful towns along the Po, or one of its many tributaries. In 1944 and 1945, Bert Fein, Andy's father, along with thousands of other brave soldiers of the U.S. Tenth Mountain Division, and joined by local Appenine fighters, pushed the Nazi army out of the Appenine Mountains and other strongholds along the Po River.

About 230 years earlier, in the small village of Beligno, at the foot of the Appenine Mountains, Giovanni Battista (J.B.) Guadagnini was born on June 23, 1711. J.B.'s father Lorenzo was a violin maker, the first in a long line of violin makers that stretched into the twentieth century.

New or Old. Which is Better for Violins, Violas & Cellos?

Written by Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins

I'm often asked: "Which is better? A new instrument or an old one?"

There is a mystique about old instruments. After all, Stradivarius & Guanerius were making instruments in the 1700s. Aren't all old instruments better than new ones? Well, yes and no. It depends on what you are interested in.

Stradivarius and Guarnerius made new instruments. Seems like a simple and intuitively obvious statement, but not everyone realizes that. Yes, Stradivarius, Amati, the Guarneris, Guadagnini, Montagnana, Vuillaume, Lupot, and the Chanot/Chardons were all real people. Real people making brand new instruments. Did they sound good when they were made? Probably, but we have no real way of knowing that. But judging from the people that played them and loved them, they were very nice sounding new instruments.

There were also a bunch of other makers from the 1500s on through the 1900s ( and even today)  that made passable, mediocre and downright lousy instruments. Are those old instruments better than a good sounding new instrument? Probably not.

Here are some considerations.