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Gavin Bantock

But music is only mathematics


falling into water majestically
Gavin Bantock

CHRISTIES
PRIVATE SALES

Christies Private Sales provides a tailored


service for seasoned collectors, occasional
buyers and those looking to acquire
their first piece of art.

In addition to finding buyers and sellers


for every kind of artwork, Private Sales
allows you to buy art or objects quickly
and at a fixed price. Each aspect of
the sale is handled with the utmost
discretion and is subject to the same
rigorous standards that we apply to
every aspect of our business. So if there is
a work of art you are looking to buy, or a
piece you would like to sell, please do not
hesitate to contact one of our specialists.

CONTACT

Please do not hesitate to contact us for more


information on these unique pieces.

Shanghai

Ronald Kiwitt

rkiwitt@christies.com
+86 21 2226 1532

Jonathan Stone

jstone@christies.com
+852 2978 9989

hfung@christies.com
+852 2978 6785

artofmusic@christies.com

+86 (0) 21 6279 8773

+852 2760 1766

+44 (0) 20 7839 9060

+1 212 636 2000


christies.com/artofmusic

Ronald Kiwitt
Business Manager
rkiwitt@christies.com
+86 21 2226 1532

Hong Kong
Jonathan Stone
Chairman and International
Head of Asian Art
jstone@christies.com
+852 2978 9989
Helen Fung
Business Development
hfung@christies.com
+852 2978 6785

General Enquiries
artofmusic@christies.com
Shanghai
+86 (0) 21 6279 8773
Hong Kong
+852 2760 1766
London
+44 (0) 20 7839 9060
New York
+1 212 636 2000
christies.com/artofmusic

Paul Cutts

Head of Sale

Paul Cutts
Global Managing Director
Decorative Arts
pcutts@christies.com
+44 (0) 20 7389 2966

pcutts@christies.com
+44 (0) 20 7389 2966

Kerry Keane

Musical Instrument Specialist

kkeane@christiespartners.com
+1 917 603 2480

Kerry Keane
Christies Consultant
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+1 917 603 2480

CONTENTS

The Art of Music

The Art of Music: Outstanding Italian Instruments


from an Important Private Collection

10

The Violin: An Early History

12

Makers and Making in Cremona:


Stradivari and Guarneri in Context

26

The Violin in Visual Art

40

1673
Du Pr, Harrell

1673 Stradivari,
the Du Pr, Harrell violoncello

60

1686
Kochanski, Rosenheim

1686 Stradivari,
the Kochanski, Rosenheim violin

70

1694
Muir-Mackenzie

1694 Stradivari,
the Muir-Mackenzie violin

80

1705
Baron Von Der Leyen, Klaveness

1705 Stradivari, the Baron Von Der Leyen,


Klaveness violin

90

1715
Titian

1715 Stradivari,
the Titian violin

98

1717
Piatti

1717 Stradivari,
the Piatti violin

1728
Kubelk, von Vecsey

1728 Guarneri Del Ges,


the Kubelk, von Vecsey violin

112

1735
Parlow, Viotti

1735 Guarneri Del Ges,


the Parlow, Viotti violin

122

1736
Lafont

1736 Guarneri Del Ges,


the Lafont violin

132

15001750

Art and Music 15001750

141

Acknowledgements

143

Contributors

146

102

(Antonio Stradivari)
1011

(Giuseppe Bartolomeo Guarneri)

16701730

Titian

(Titian)

(Alfredo
Carlo Piatti) (Jacqueline du Pr)

THE ART OF MUSIC


Outstanding Italian Instruments from an Important Private Collection

The name Antonio Stradivari is synonymous with the greatest musical instruments
ever produced. This October and November, Christies is proud to present a landmark
exhibition in Shanghai and Hong Kong of instruments for private sale, comprising
outstanding examples by the Cremonese master and his contemporary Giuseppe
Bartolomeo Guarneri, known as del Ges.
Drawn from a single important European collection, The Art of Music represents the
most significant opportunity in a lifetime to acquire some of the greatest violins and
cellos still in private hands. Dating from the 1670s to the 1730s, the golden age of
Italian making, each piece is exquisite aurally and aesthetically.
The exhibition traces the history of violin making through the 17th and early 18th
centuries, contextualising Stradivari and Guarneris work in the broader cultural and
artistic developments of the time. It explores the novel design and manufacturing
processes employed by the two innovators and explains why these instruments
with their unrivalled sonic qualities have continued to inspire painters, musicians,
sculptors, photographers, collectors and music-loving audiences over five centuries.
To complement the exhibition, Christies is honoured to have been loaned the prized
Titian Stradivari. Named after the eponymous painter due to its gloriously rich
red varnish, the Titian is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful violins still
in private ownership. Its presence is tacit recognition of the quality of the other
instruments being displayed, many of them associated with some of the worlds
leading musicians from Pawe Kochaski to Jacqueline du Pr.
It is a reminder that outstanding musical instruments in addition to delighting the
ear delight the eye as masterpieces of fine art. We look forward to welcoming you
to Shanghai and Hong Kong to experience The Art of Music.

THE ART OF MUSIC

11

12

THE VIOLIN
AN EARLY HISTORY

THE ART OF MUSIC

13

By Andrew Dipper

14901520
(Boethius)
1492 1 Arithmetica Geometria et Musica

By Joannem et Gregorium
de Gregoriis
1

Leonardo da Vinci as a Musician


1982XV241

(Emmanuel Winternitz)
2
violino

Carlo Bonetti
1505
15051577
3

(Andrea Amati) 3

NMM 3351The King

()

(previous)
NMM 3351. Violoncello, The King
by Andrea Amati, Cremona, mid-16th century
Witten-Rawlins Collection, 1984
National Music Museum

A Musician480524
De Musica

(right)
A Musician, from De Musica by Boethius
(480524) (vellum), Italian School, (14th century)
Biblioteca Nazionale, Naples, Italy
Bridgeman Images

14

THE ART OF MUSIC

15

16

THE VIOLIN
AN EARLY HISTORY
By Andrew Dipper

By Joannem et Gregorium de Gregoriis

The origin of the violin is obscure but can be traced in illustrations found in the printed
books of the early Italian Renaissance. Between 1490 and 1520 serious studies were
begun to translate Greek and Arabic works on music into Hebrew and thence Latin. One
of the first of these was Arithmetica Geometria et Musica by Boethius, published in 1492. 1

Emmanuel Winternitz, Leonardo da


Vinci as a Musician, Yale University Press,
1982, xv, 241 pp.

In these books, ground rules for the relationship between music and mathematics
were first propounded and it is with these rules that the first bowed instruments
resembling violins emerge. It is significant that the very first book illustrations of
violin-like instruments are of the lira da braccio, an instrument used at European
courts for the performance of poetry and of which, according to Emmanuel
Winternitz, Leonardo was a leading exponent. 2

The research of Carlo Bonetti shows


fairly convincingly that Andrea Amati
must have been living before 1505
but his generally accepted dates
are 15051577

The name violino in Italian implies a small viol and it is thought that the invention of
the violin was driven by the need to produce an instrument smaller than the viola
da braccia for use in the new dance styles of the Italian Renaissance. This may
have been one leg of its development but the genius of the Cremona makers
spearheaded by Andrea Amati (15051577) 3 and reaching its zenith in the work
of both Antonio Stradivari and the Guarneri family surpassed this.

Although recognised as the inventor of the violin, Andrea Amatis greater achievement
was the invention of the string ensemble that underlies the development of the
modern symphony orchestra. This consisted not merely in the downsizing of the
previously existing lira da braccio into a more portable object but the novel concept
of creating a complete self-sustaining family of instruments of varied sizes whose
tones would meld to make an orchestra of sound.

Michael Praetorius Syntagma Musicum


Lira da braccio
Syntagma Musicum by Michael Praetorius

THE ART OF MUSIC

17

1530

Colle de Nerf

15371595
The King
(National Music Museum) 4

1600

(Catherine de Medici) 1551 (Charles de Coss)

1559

1555 (Pompeo Diabono)


(Balthazar Beaujoyleux)

NMM 3351 The King


15361559
PIETATE(
)K
Karolus()
IVSTICIA(
)K
Karolus()The
King
1538
1560
38
(1574)

NMM 3351
The King

Witten-Rawlins1984

NMM 3351. Violoncello, The King


by Andrea Amati, Cremona, mid-16th century
Witten-Rawlins Collection, 1984
National Music Museum

18

THE VIOLIN: AN EARLY HISTORY

Many things were necessary for their manufacture (including high-grade steel
tools) but Amatis process must have also included a significant understanding of
the nature of sound, combined with a knowledge of the strength of materials and
the correct relationship of all the parts together so that the forces of traction of the
strings were equally balanced by their novel construction. This would have been
impossible with the techniques of the medieval period.

NMM 3351. Violoncello, The King


by Andrea Amati, c. 15361559. The
letters on the bass side spell the word,
PIETATE (Latin for piety). The letter, K, in
the center rib stands for 'Karolus' (King
Charles IX of France). The letters on the
treble side spell the word IVSTICIA (or
JUSTICIA, Latin for justice). The letter,
K, in the center rib stands for 'Karolus'
(King Charles IX of France). The King is
the earliest bass instrument of the violin
family known to survive, built perhaps
as early as 1538, originally with only
three strings. About 1560, it was painted
to serve as one of a set of 38 stringed
instruments built by Andrea Amati that
were painted and gilded for the French
court of King Charles IX (d. 1574)
4

Amatis masterstroke was applying to musical instrument-making the principle of


mass production, a comparatively new system that until the 1530s was largely
confined to the manufacture of firearms in some of the major cities of Europe,
including the large factories of Cremona's neighbouring city, Brescia. The success
of Amatis instruments owes another debt to warfare. In their battles against the
Ottoman Empire, Italians had discovered the recipe for an immensely strong
glue used by the Turks in the construction of their powerful archery bows. Made
from the tendons of animals, Colle de Nerf was a previously secret process. With
their novel design based on a geometric scalable scheme and innovative use
of materials, Amatis new instruments from Cremona far outshone those of rival
Brescian and German luthiers.
The Amati family used these techniques to construct many instruments for export
to the royal families of Europe between 1537 and 1595. One of the first was a viola
that now shares a display with the The King cello in the University of South Dakotas
National Music Museum. 4 These first Andrea Amati commissions included all
the members of the violin family most probably arranged as sets, or consorts as
well as a few examples of instruments of the viol family and some lutes. A significant
number of these royal commissions were decorated with paintings, emblems,
devices and mottos (impresa), whose iconography is linked to particular historical
events during the reigns of the French Kings.

THE ART OF MUSIC

19

15811015
38
5

5
King
(NMM33511564
)1566
Berger

(Jacob Stainer 1617-1683)

(Antonio 15371607)
(Hieronymus15511630)

(Nicol15961684)

(Hieronymus II16491740)

(Gasparo
Bertolotti15421609)

151072
151989
Attributed to Francois Clouet (c. 151072)
Portrait of Catherine de Medici (151989)
Muse de la Ville de Paris, Muse Carnavalet,
Paris, France / Bridgeman Images

(Girolamo Virchi)
1600

1581
Balthazar de Beaujoyeulx
Ballet comique de la reine
1581 (engraving), French School, (16th century)
Bibliothque de l'Opra Garnier, Paris, France
Bridgeman Images

20

Several instruments from his private


orchestra still exist, including the
famous King cello (NMM3351, dated
before 1564 that was decorated later
with Charles IX Achievements) and
the 'Berger' cello dated 1566.
5

NMM 3351
The King

Witten-Rawlins1984

NMM 3351. Violoncello, The King


by Andrea Amati, Cremona, mid-16th century
Witten-Rawlins Collection, 1984
National Music Museum

THE VIOLIN: AN EARLY HISTORY

The meteoric rise in popularity of the violin from its probable introduction in France
during the reign of Henry II to its wholesale use by 1600 at various European courts
is largely due to Catherine de Medici, Henrys queen and the fashion maven of
the period whose tastes influenced the entire continent. In 1551, Charles de Coss
(the Marchal de Brissac) was sent as governor to French-occupied Piedmont,
where he formed his own violin band from local talent and, on his return to Paris
in 1559, introduced it to the court. Its subsequent adoption by Catherine for court
ballets and entertainments paved the way for the violins dominance over the
common wind, plucked and bowed instruments of the day. By 1555, Catherines
own court ballets and masques were overseen by Italians Pompeo Diabono and
Balthazar Beaujoyeulx, the latter named by his contemporaries as the best violinist
in all of Christendom. Both these masters of music aided in the magnificent
entertainments of the Valois dynasty including the famous Ballet Comique de la
Reine held on 15 October 1581, where a complete orchestra of 38 Amati violins,
violas and small bass were used. Catherines son, Charles IX of France, also
established his own academy of music that included violinists. 5
From this time on, the Amati family of Cremona held the primary position as
instrument makers in Europe; an exception was the notably successful Austrian
Jacob Stainer (c. 161783). Andrea Amatis work is marked by selection of the finest
materials, great elegance in execution, soft clear amber, translucent varnish and an
in-depth use of acoustic and geometrical principles in design. He was succeeded
by his sons Antonio (c. 15371607) and Hieronymus (c. 15511630). The Brothers
Amati, as they were known, instituted numerous design changes in the violin that
were needed because of the increased size of performance spaces then in use.
They were followed by Hieronymus son Nicol (15961684), who further refined
the choice of materials and varnish, to produce instruments with fabulous wood,
exquisite beauty and radiance of varnish, and superb sculpting of edge work,
scrolls and sound holes. The last of the dynasty was Hieronymus II (16491740),
who produced instruments of considerable merit.

21

THE ART OF MUSIC

1000

12001300

1300

(Ruggieri)

(16441737)

1700 ()
1680

1690
G
1680
(Cardinal
Pietro Francesco Orsini1724 529)

(Francesco) (Omobono)
1700 1737

22

15001600

16001700

THE VIOLIN: AN EARLY HISTORY

16001800

The city of Brescia was an early competitor to Cremonese makers but Brescian
instruments were built using very different techniques, usually as single bespoke
models whose construction echoed the medieval techniques of the lute makers
of Fssen, Germany. Brescian work is exemplified in the instruments of Gasparo
Bertolotti (15421609), commonly called Gasparo da Sal. He used locally sourced wood
and acoustic design that, in the first years, tended to favour a better sound for the richer,
lower-pitched viola than the violin. The work of Girolamo Virchi (a contemporary and
friend of da Sal) is noteworthy for its polychrome decoration and carving.
The plagues of the 1600s decimated the principal makers of the Brescian school, leaving
the Cremonese and Nicol Amati as leaders in the field. Nicol became the teacher
of the next generation of violin makers that included the Stradivari, the Guarneri and
Ruggieri families. It is believed that Nicol taught Antonio Stradivari (16441737) but, as
yet, no definitive evidence has been put forward. Early Stradivari instruments do share
characteristics with those of Nicol though with subtle differences in the purfling inlay
and finishing of the f-holes. Antonios violins were beautifully designed and, until
1700 (the start of what is called Stradivaris Golden Period), followed the Amati
model. The early violins were made for local consumption and, by the 1680s, Stradivaris
atelier was producing lutes, guitars and harps as well as violins.

Evolution of the f-holes

Stradivaris experimentation with the form and size of all the instruments of the violin
family is notable, especially in the cellos. One of his first experiments on the Amati
model was to narrow the lower bouts of the violin, which led to the so-called long
pattern instruments but these were abandoned after 1690 in favour of larger and
more robust models. Stradivari increased the volume of the sound-box during his
working life and the later G form violins push the limits of the instruments structural
and acoustic capabilities. His skill was recognised by and reflected in the status of his
clients, who by the 1680s included Cardinal Pietro Francesco Orsini (elected Pope
on 29 May 1724) and the heads of numerous European royal houses. The success of
the Stradivari workshop and the involvement of his sons Francesco and Omobono
ensured its dominance from 1700 until Stradivaris death in 1737.

23

THE ART OF MUSIC

500

1727

(16981744)

(Franois Tourte)
(Eugne Sartory)

1760

1800 (Pique) (Lupot)

18001900

500

24

THE VIOLIN: AN EARLY HISTORY

What remains extraordinary


is how little the violin has altered in
basic architecture during its near-500
years of development

After 1727, when the Stradivaris production declined because of Antonios age, the
void was filled by the instruments of Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri del Ges
(16981744). Del Ges succeeded in bringing the violin to a completely different
level of acoustic power. His construction method was really a spin-off from the Amati
school: the instruments are small and lower in the rib than Stradivari, which gives
them a sound that has been described by performers as dry as an almond. His broad
arching of the plates and longer f-holes give them more powerful and stellar possibility
in performance, particularly when they are teamed up with strong artists and the best
of the French bows by archetiers such as F. Tourte and E. Sartory.
After these Cremonese masters died, violin making in Italy declined as the main
centres of production shifted to Vienna, London and Paris. Here the instrument
underwent various small modifications until the 1760s, when the fashion for canting
the necks backwards and the adoption of full ebony fittings and better strings gave
them more power. Until the French Revolution there were many choices of violin styles
in Europe from the German models of the Mittenwald and Nuremberg schools to
the robust models of the Viennese and the clever work of the English copyists.
By 1800, the French school of Franois Pique (17581822) and Nicolas Lupot
(17581824) had redefined the model of the violin into the copyist frame that we
see today. This process was followed by European manufactories that churned out
violins by the hundreds of thousands in the late 1800s and early 1900s a model
that, in the 21st century, has seen China become a significant mass producer and
exporter of the instrument.
What remains extraordinary however, when looking back over its history, is how little
the violin has altered in basic architecture during its near-500 years of development.
It is this that points to a quality of perfection in the original Cremonese concept one
that, in a modern world of continual change and redesign on the electronic frontiers
of culture, remains unsurpassed.

THE ART OF MUSIC

25

26

MAKERS AND MAKING


IN CREMONA
STRADIVARI AND GUARNERI IN CONTEXT

THE ART OF MUSIC

27

By Stewart Pollens

(Andrea Amati 1505


1577) *
(Gottardo)

Emma CapronThe Violin


in Visual Art(40)

Vinicio GaiGli strumenti musicali


della Corte Medicea e il Museo del
Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini di
Firenze(1969)19
6

() 6

(Antonio15351607) (Girolamo I; 15611630)


1596 (Nicol)

(1684 ) (Girolamo
II1649) 1630

(garzone) (
gevana)1641168615
Giacomo RailichGiorgio StaiberGirolamo
Segher Segher

(previous)
Reproduction of original drawing
illustrating the geometry of Stradivari's
sound-hole design

(16291667)

16571658
(right)
Gabriel Metsu (16291667)
A Woman seated at a Table
and a Man tuning a Violin, c. 16571658
National Gallery, London
culture-images/Lebrecht

28

THE ART OF MUSIC

29

30

MAKERS AND MAKING


IN CREMONA
STRADIVARI AND GUARNERI IN CONTEXT
By Stewart Pollens

See Emma Caprons essay on


The Violin in Visual Art on p. 40
Vinicio Gai, Gli strumenti musicali
della Corte Medicea e il Museo del
Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini di
Firenze (Florence, 1969), p. 19.
6

Though there were trade guilds in Cremona dating back to the Middle Ages, violin
making the art which has earned the northern Italian city its indelible place in cultural
history was controlled by a few tightly knit families rather than by a guild. The earliest
whose work has come down to us was the family of Andrea Amati (c. 15051577),
whose professional life coincides with the first pictorial representations of the violin *.
His father, called Master Gottardo, was also an artisan and probably a maker of
lutes, viols and lire da braccio (considered to be the immediate predecessor of the
violin); one by Andrea Amati is listed in an inventory of musical instruments owned
by the Medici court in Florence. 6 Amatis sons Antonio (c. 15351607) and Girolamo I
(15611630) followed in their fathers footsteps.
In 1596, Girolamo and his second wife, Laura, gave birth to a son, Nicol. Nicol lived
a long and productive life (he died in 1684) and one of his sons, Girolamo II (b. 1649),
continued the family craft. But in 1630 plague swept through Lombardy, taking the
elder Girolamo. Nicol appears to have been the only master violin maker in Cremona
to survive that outbreak; were it not for this, it is possible that the craft of violin making
in Cremona would have come to an end.

Jacques Joseph Lecurieux (18011867)

(15961684)
Jacques Joseph Lecurieux (18011867)
Italian luthier Nicol Amati (15961684)
Music Division, The New York Public Library
for the Performing Arts, Astor
Lenox and Tilden Foundations

The census books for every parish in Cremona list not only the family members
in each house but also the other occupants, including apprentices (under the
designation garzone, or shop boy) and female servants (often termed gevana). We
know that between 1641 and 1686 Nicol Amati housed a total of 15 employees,
including apprentices and workers from outside the family. These assistants often had
German surnames, such as Giacomo Railich, Giorgio Staiber and Girolamo Segher.
Though Segher is listed in the census books as hailing from Padua, it is possible that
the others emigrated from the Tyrol, particularly from the region around Fssen,
where many instrument makers and woodcarvers were trained and worked.

THE ART OF MUSIC

31

, 1716
Image of original
Stradivari label, 1716

1641
(Giacomo Gennaro) (1623
1698) 15Casalbuttano

716411647 1650

Battesimi S. Giorgio
216221654Carlo Chiesa
Duane Rosengard
Guarneri del
Ges: A Biographical History
Giuseppe Guarneri del Ges
219987
7

(Pietro)
(Joseph filius Andre) (Giuseppe Giovanni
Battista) ( )

(16981744)
IHS(del Ges) ( Jacobus
Januarius ) 16411646

(Giovanni Battista Rogeri1642


1705 ) 16611663

(Ruggieri)
(Francesco Ruggieri; 16201698)
Sabastiano

( 1644
1737) 1667

1698
8

S. AgataDiocesano
166080
S. Matteo16801737
8

32

MAKERS AND MAKING IN CREMONA: STRADIVARI AND GUARNERI IN CONTEXT

, 1735
Image of original
Guarneri label, 1735

Casalbuttano, Parish of S. Giorgio,


Battesimi, vol. 2, 16221654. Carlo
Chiesa and Duane Rosengard,
Guarneri del Ges: A Biographical
History, Giuseppe Guarneri del Ges
vol. 2 (London, 1998), p. 7.
7

Nicol Amatis apprentices are a roll-call of great makers. In 1641, Andrea Guarneri and
Giacomo Gennaro first appear in Amatis census returns. Guarneri (16231698) was
born about 15km from Cremona in the small town of Casalbuttano and was to sire
Cremonas next great violin-making dynasty. 7 He worked for Amati between 1641 and
1647, returning in 1650 for another three years.
Guarneris offspring included his sons Pietro (Peter of Mantua) and Giuseppe Giovanni
Battista, later known as Joseph filius Andre (Joseph, son of Andrea), as well as
grandsons Pietro (Peter of Venice) and Bartolomeo Giuseppe (16981744). The greatest
of all the Guarneri, he was known as Giuseppe Guarneri, or simply as del Ges, due to
the figure of the cross and the initials IHS printed on his labels. Giacomo Gennaro (also
known as Jacobus Januarius, dates unknown) worked for Nicol Amati between 1641
and 1646 and went on to become a master in his own right. Giovanni Battista Rogeri
(c. 1662 after 1705), who came to Cremona from Bologna and worked for Nicol
Amati between 1661 and 1663, subsequently settled in Brescia, where he became a
prominent violin maker. The Ruggieri were a prominent family of violin makers active
in Cremona that had no apparent tie with the Amati. Francesco Ruggieri (16201698),
from the small town of S. Bernado, moved to Cremona and initially settled in the parish
of S. Sabastiano, just outside the old city walls.

Archivio Storico Diocesano,


Cremona, parish of S. Agata, 166080;
parish of S. Matteo, 16801737.
8

Antonio Stradivari (c. 16441737) is not listed as an apprentice of Amati in the census
returns. In fact the earliest record of him in Cremona is church correspondence
concerning the posting of his marriage banns in 1667. Antonios own census returns
and other documents indicate that he did not employ non-family members as shop
assistants or apprentices, though his sons Francesco and Omobono are known to
have assisted him. According to the census records, the only non-family members to
live in his household were a number of young female domestic servants who served
intermittently beginning in 1698, the year Stradivaris first wife died. 8

THE ART OF MUSIC

33

1670
1698
3,000

Philip Kass
Nicol Amati: His life
and Times15
21997158Philip
Kass
Crowded Out
The Strad
1101314 199910
1047
9

17159

(Vincenzo Ruggieri) 1719

10 1737
(Barbara Franchi
)
11

(Nicol Paganini)

ChiesaRosengardGuarneri
del Ges210
10

11

19

34

MAKERS AND MAKING IN CREMONA: STRADIVARI AND GUARNERI IN CONTEXT

Music gives a soul to the universe,


wings to the mind, flight to the imagination
and life to everything...
Plato

Philip Kass, Nicol Amati: His life and


Times, Journal of the Violin Society of
America, vol. 15, no. 2 (1997), p. 158. Philip
Kass, Crowded Out, The Strad, vol. 110,
no. 1314 (October, 1999), p. 1047.

Despite, or perhaps because of Antonio Stradivaris meteoric rise, by the end of the
17th century the old, established violin houses of the Amati, Ruggieri and Guarneri
families were in decline and experiencing financial difficulties, and by the early years
of the 18th century were in virtual ruin. As early as the 1670s, the Amati were selling
or taking out loans against their property. In 1698 they borrowed 3,000 lire using the
family home as collateral and were later forced to forfeit part of the house after failing
to make interest payments on the loan. When several of Girolamo IIs loans came
due and a judgment was brought against him for non-payment, he apparently fled
Cremona and did not return until 1715. 9

Chiesa and Rosengard, Guarneri


del Ges, vol. 2, p. 10.

Vincenzo Ruggieris will, written in 1719, provides meagre dowries for his unmarried
daughters, and a codicil refers to difficult times, perhaps an allusion to the
burdensome taxation and general economic decline described above. 10 The Guarneri
family also fell into debt and in 1737 was forced to sell part of the family house in order
to repay a loan. The same year, Barbara Franchi (wife of Joseph filius Andre) died
and the Guarneri family had to borrow money to pay her funeral expenses. 11

10

11

Ibid., p. 19.

This is in sharp contrast to Antonio Stradivaris financial state. In the course of a long
career his talents and industry put him in a position to make substantial loans to
members of the community, to purchase a lucrative business partnership for his
youngest son and to provide dowries, annuities and bequests for his other offspring.
Because of their elegant construction, Stradivaris instruments were immediately
sought by European nobility including the kings of Spain, Poland and England, the
Medici in Florence and other titled individuals. In the early 19th century, del Gess
violins came to prominence primarily due to their association with virtuoso violinist
Nicol Paganini. The violins of these two makers have come to represent opposite
poles of the tonal spectrum: Stradivaris are characterised by refinement and brilliance,
while the typical Guarneri violin has a darker, earthier sound.

THE ART OF MUSIC

35

( 2:3
5:4)

(
12)1690

(
12)1690

(18621922)
1893
Edgar Bundy (18621922)
Antonio Stradivari, 1893
Private Collection
Bridgeman Images

36

MAKERS AND MAKING IN CREMONA: STRADIVARI AND GUARNERI IN CONTEXT

Of course, these are over-generalisations; Stradivaris instruments exhibit a wide variation


in timbre as well in fact most of the violins of these two makers have strong, individual
personalities that beg exploration and challenge the player. Though some virtuosi
pledge their allegiance to the violins of one maker or the other, others are fortunate to
have owned both. From the mid-18th century onward, violin makers have copied the
work of Stradivari and Guarneri del Ges to the virtual exclusion of all others.
The Cremonese tradition was a fairly rigid one that did not tolerate much variation
in size, shape, string length and f-hole placement yet Stradivari and Guarneri del
Ges proved to be restless experimenters. Though certain proportions were strictly
maintained (such as the 2:3 ratio of neck to stop lengths and the 5:4 division of the
body length by the bridge), violin body length and bout dimensions varied and there
was considerable leeway with regard to arching, edgework and cutting of the scroll.
Both makers used a reusable form made of wood that not only facilitated accurate
control over size and shape but also provided a certain degree of uniformity from
instrument to instrument.
Although the Cremonese school of violin making originated with the Amati family, the
instruments of Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Ges became the choice
of virtuosi and remain the most sought-after instruments in the world. Stradivari
employed a number of forms that varied in size and proportion (a dozen of his violin
forms are preserved in the Museo Stradivariano in Cremona). They range from the
Amati model that he used in his early instruments, through the narrower Long
Pattern used in the 1690s, followed by the broader grand pattern used to make his
Golden Period and later instruments.

1700
Italian School
Guarneri del Ges, c. 1700
Public Domain

Guarneri del Ges is commonly thought to have made a large and a small model (the
distinction in length being just a few millimeters) but many of both models appear to
have identical rib structures and thus were apparently made on the same form the
differences in their gross dimensions being due to greater or lesser overhang of the

THE ART OF MUSIC

37

(
)

901730

(16441737
Kochanski, Rosenheim
1686Antonius
Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1686

P-606
1435.6
Antonio Stradivari (16441737)
A Violin, Known as the Kochanski,
Rosenheim, Cremona, 1686
Labelled Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis /
Faciebat Anno 1686 and bearing
the catalogue number P-606
Length of back 14 in., 35.6 cm.

38

MAKERS AND MAKING IN CREMONA: STRADIVARI AND GUARNERI IN CONTEXT

top and back plates. In his late instruments, Guarneri del Ges experimented with
longer and more open f-holes, which lowered the air resonance of his violins and
produced the darker sound for which those violins are noted.
Stradivaris violins are generally considered to be the more finely crafted of the
two makers though in the 1730s, as he approached his nineties, Stradivaris work
became a little coarse while the Guarneri del Gess of the period are highly
refined. It is only in the last few years of del Gess life that his work roughens and
yet those instruments are considered among his greatest achievements highly
prized for the uniquely shaped f-holes and heavily worked scrolls that boldly
trespass the staid boundaries of the Cremonese school.
(16981744)
Lafont, Brodsky
1736Joseph Guarnerius fecit /
Cremone anno 1736
13 35
Giuseppe Bartolomeo Guarneri,
del Ges (16981744)
A Violin, Known as the Lafont,
Brodsky, Cremona c. 1736
Labelled Joseph Guarnerius fecit /
Cremone anno 1736
Length of back: 13 in. (35 cm.)

THE VIOLIN
IN VISUAL ART

THE ART OF MUSIC

41

By Emma Capron

(Stradivari) (Guarneri)

(Benvenuto Cellini)
(Ingres) (Delacroix)
(Matisse) (Paul Klee)

1523

1529 (Gaudenzio Ferrari)

16471721

(previous)
Jan van der Vaardt (16471721)
Violin and bow hanging on a door
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, UK
Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth
Reproduced by permission of Chatsworth
Settlement Trustees | Bridgeman Images

14751546

1529
(right)
Gaudenzio Ferrari (c. 14751546)
Madonna with Saints or
Madonna of the Oranges, 1529
Church of San Cristoforo,
Vercelli, Italy | Ghigo Roli
Bridgeman Images

42

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43

44

THE VIOLIN
IN VISUAL ART
By Emma Capron

For five centuries, the violin has captured the imagination of painters like no
other instrument in the history of Western art. A feat of craftsmanship that, with
Stradivari and Guarneri, reached the status of a work of art in itself, the violin is an
object of unrivalled visual appeal: its sinuous curves, balanced shapes, serpentine
lines, rich tonalities, smooth surface and reflective finish have made it an instrument
not only to be played but also to be seen and depicted. From the high Renaissance to
the modern era, artists have played the violin and played with it: the famed sculptor
and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini entered the service of Pope Clement VII as a violin
player before becoming papal sculptor; Ingres, Delacroix and Matisse were all noted
amateurs; an accomplished violin player, the abstract master Paul Klee hesitated to
embrace the career of professional musician before opting for painting instead.
Ubiquitous in musical styles from the baroque to jazz, the violin also became an
omnipresent feature of European visual culture. Through their varied depictions of
the violin, artists consciously referenced, fuelled and renewed the age-old debate
on the paragone: the competition between the arts of music and painting, as
well as between the senses of sight and hearing. Painters also sought to evoke
the ambiguous social nature of the instrument: it is both the companion of street
performers, bohemians and revellers as well as the item of choice in elegant
gatherings and aristocratic salons. This ambivalence echoed a medieval concern
with music that followed the violin into the early modern era: an instrument at once
celestial (graced with the acoustic abilities to praise God) but also potentially devilish,
leading to lust and intoxication. It is this rich, multifaceted image of the violin that
artists have rendered throughout the centuries, each stamping the instrument with
their own personal sensibilities.
(15931652)
16251630
Georges de la Tour, (15931652)
The Beggars Brawl, c. 16251630
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles USA |
Bridgeman Images

The violin was invented during the first half of the 16th century by luthiers active
in Cremona, Milan, Brescia and Venice in northern Italy, a region renowned for its
mastery of woodworking techniques. The first textual mention of the instrument
appears in the accounts of the duchy of Savoy in 1523: for trumpets and violins

THE ART OF MUSIC

45

()

1535

(Philibert Jambe de Fer) 1556

()
()
(George de la Tour)
(16251630)
(Gerrit Van
Honthorst) (1623 )

(Jan Miense Molenaer)


(1629 )

14751546

Gaudenzio Ferrari (c. 14751546)


Angels Playing Music
Photo Scala, Florence

46

16101668
1629
Jan Miense Molenaer (16101668)
Two Boys and a Girl making Music, 1629
Photo Art Media/Heritage Images,
Scala, Florence

15921656
1623
Gerard van Honthorst (15921656)
The Merry Fiddler, 1623
Photo Fine Art/Alamy

THE VIOLIN IN VISUAL ART

from Vercelli. The first visual record of the violin occurs a few years later, in 1529,
in an altarpiece for the church of San Cristoforo in the same town of Vercelli:
The Madonna of the Oranges painted by Gaudenzio Ferrari. Beneath the Virgins
throne are seated two music-making angels (a customary feature in sacre
conversazioni of the time), one of them holding an early example of the violin. In
1535, Ferrari frescoed the cupola of the cathedral of Saronno near Milan with an
entire concert of angels, featuring a vast array of stringed instruments including all
the members of the violin family.
Despite its original inclusion in Ferraris religious scenes, the violin at its inception
was hardly considered a heavenly instrument. Favoured as an accompaniment to
village dances and popular in taverns, its extractions are lowly. Small and portable,
it swiftly became the characteristic instrument of street performers and beggars.
In his treatise titled Epitom musical from 1556, the musician Philibert Jambe de
Fer condemned it: The violin is very different from the viola. We call viola [the
instrument] used by gentlemen, merchants and other men of virtue to pass time.
The other kind is called violin and it is the one commonly used for unruly dances.
A number of 17th-century visual accounts of the instrument, especially from
North of the Alps, testify to this reviled status. To the right of George de la Tours
remarkably expressive The Beggars Brawl (c. 16251630; Los Angeles, Getty
Museum), a dishevelled violin player offers his toothy grin and unfocused gaze to
the viewer, visibly enjoying the fight unfolding next to him. In The Merry Fiddler by
Gerard van Honthorst (1623; Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum), an inebriated, extravagantly
dressed musician holding a violin and a glass of wine theatrically peers out of a
window and engages the viewer to partake in his revelry. In Jan Miense Molenaers
Two Boys and a Girl Making Music (1629; London, National Gallery), the violin, along
with other makeshift instruments, contributes to the childrens joyful cacophony.

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47

1607 (Monteverdi)
1636
(Marin Mersenne)

(Caravaggio)
(1595)
(15951596 )

(Francesco Maria del Monte)


(Vincenzo Giustiniani)

(1612)

(Saint Cecilia) (Evaristo Baschenis)


( 1660
)

(Rudolph Wittkover)
()

(15711610)
1595
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (15711610)
The Musicians, c. 1595
The Metropolitan Museum
of Art | Art Resource | Scala, Florence

48

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49

50

THE VIOLIN IN VISUAL ART

If music be the food of love, play on,


Give me excess of it; that surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
William Shakespeare

However, at the turn of the 17th century, the violin began moving away from these
humble beginnings and entered more elevated cenacles. The rise of baroque music
was key to that development. Especially, the violin grew to be considered the ideal
accompaniment to singing. In 1607, Monteverdi prescribed its use in his opera
Orfeo and, by 1636, the French theoretician Marin Mersenne had consecrated
the violin the king of instruments in his treatise Harmonie Universelle. Images
in turn reflected that change in taste. In this respect, Caravaggios early musical
paintings such as The Musicians (c. 1595; New York, Metropolitan Museum) and
The Lute Player (15951596; Saint-Petersburg, Hermitage Museum) both of which
include dramatically foreshortened Italian violins in the foreground are not only
masterpieces of Western art but also epitomise the violins rise in favour among
the sophisticated patrons and vanguard musical connoisseurs who commissioned
these works: Roman cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte and nobleman Vincenzo
Giustiniani. Caravaggios acute naturalism, typical of the Northern Italian school,
was also particularly well suited to emphasise the remarkable craftsmanship of
contemporary musical instruments.

(15651647)
1612
Orazio Gentileschi (15651647)
Young Woman with a Violin, c. 1612
Detroit Institute of Arts, USA | Gift of Mrs Edsel
B. Ford | Bridgeman Images

Following Caravaggios lead, a generation of artists sought to explore further the


aesthetic and formal qualities of the violin as a pictorial and symbolic object. In his
dramatically lit Young Woman with a Violin (c. 1612; Detroit, Detroit Institute of Art),
depicting a rapt player looking upwards for divine inspiration, Orazio Gentileschi
renewed the iconography of Saint Cecilia, patron saint of musicians. The Bergamo
artist and priest Evaristo Baschenis took a more radical turn by removing the
human figure altogether: his beautifully composed still lifes are genuine portraits of
musical instruments (c. 1660; Bergamo, Accademia Carrara; and private collection).
Meticulously rendered violins, lutes and keyboards rest in silence, still and discarded,
often under a layer of dust, on elaborate Oriental rugs. By denying the instruments
their sonorous qualities, Baschenis presented the violin as an object of pure visual
delectation, prompting art historian Rudolph Wittkover to praise his uncanny
modernity: What attracted [Baschenis] was the warm tonality of the polished

THE ART OF MUSIC

51

(Pieter Claesz) (1628


)
(Jan van der Vaart)

(Francesco Guardi)
1782()

(Pietro Longhi)(1741)

(Charles Baudelaire)

(Edouard Manet) (1862

(15971660)

Pieter Claesz (15971660)


Still Life with Glass Globe
or Vanitas with Violin
and Glass Ball
akg-images

52

(17121793)

Francesco Guardi (17121793)


Venetian Gala Concert
Scala, Florence/bpk, Bildagentur
fuer Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte, Berlin

THE VIOLIN IN VISUAL ART

wood as much as the complex stereometry of shapes. By means of a dry, almost


photographic realism, he thus produced abstract-cubist designs in which highly
sophisticated space definitions are supported by the contrast and superimposition
of flat, bulging, smooth, broken or meandering forms.
In Northern Europe too the violin frequently appeared in still lifes as a vanitas motif,
conveying a moralising commentary on the briefness of worldly pleasures such as
music. Dutch Golden Age artists and patrons were especially keen on the instrument,
as testified by Pieter Claeszs masterful Vanitas with Violin and Glass Ball (c. 1628;
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg). From the still life tradition stemmed the
taste for trompe loeil painting, of which the most remarkable example is probably Jan
van der Vaarts incredibly deceptive Violin Door at Chatsworth House: the instrument
hangs on a feigned door leading to the music room, as a self-confident assertion on the
part of the artist of the superiority of painting over music.
The rise of symphonic music in the 18th century solidified the violins place in
the canon of both music and painting, as the instrument became the nucleus
and the keystone of the modern orchestra. From grand public events such as
Francesco Guardis Venetian Gala Concert (Munich, Alte Pinakothek) to the intimate
atmosphere of elegant salons, such as Pietro Longhis The Concert (1741; Venice,
Galleria dellAccademia), it is the social dimension of the violin as the aristocratic
instrument par excellence that dominates in painting from the period.
By contrast, the 19th century saw the violin return to its earlier associations with
the lowly world of vagabonds and bohemians. The figure of the bohemian outcast
had by then merged with that of the misunderstood creative genius, and the violin
was the instrument best suited to express the romantic artists inner sorrow, the
mal du sicle: The violin quivers like a tormented heart / Melancholy waltz and
languid vertigo! wrote Charles Baudelaire in his poem Evening Harmony. When
Baudelaires favourite painter, Edouard Manet, depicted the Parisian bohemian life

THE ART OF MUSIC

53

(Niccol Paganini)
(Jean-Dominique
Auguste Ingres) (1819)

(Eugne Delacroix)

(Marc
Chagall)

(19231924

(Braque) (Picasso)

1912 (
) (Jan Kubelik)
Kubelik, von Vecsey (1728 x)
(Giacomo Balla)

(1912)

(17801867)
1819
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (17801867)
Portrait of Niccol Paganini, 1819
Public Domain

(Man Ray) 1924


(Kiki de Montparnasse)

(18321883)
1862()
Edouard Manet (18321883)
The Old Musician, 1862 (detail)
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA
Bridgeman Images

54

THE ART OF MUSIC

55

56

THE VIOLIN IN VISUAL ART

with The Old Musician (1862; Washington DC, National Gallery of Art), he placed an
ageing, obsolete violin player at the heart of the picture as the archetypal marginal
figure and the painters alter ego. Portrayals of Niccol Paganini, arguably the
greatest virtuoso of all time, also testify to this new view of the artist. Paganini was
reputed to have sold his soul to the devil in return for his astonishing skills. While the
neoclassical painter Jean-Dominique Auguste Ingres attempted to tame Paganinis
impetuosity in his fine and polished portrait drawing (1819; Paris, Muse du Louvre),
his romantic counterpart Eugne Delacroix exploited to its fullest the Faustian
legend surrounding the virtuoso, depicting the musicians thin, sepulchral and
entranced silhouette emerging from threatening darkness (1831; Washington, Phillips
Collection). Delacroixs swift brushstrokes seems to echo the glissandi, pizzicati,
double stops and harmonic effects that were characteristic of the player. The
bohemian violinist later found another incarnation in the figure of the wandering
Jew, poetically depicted by Marc Chagall in the oneiric Green Violinist (19231924;
New York, Guggenheim Museum).

(19282005)
1962
Arman (Armand Fernandez, 19282005)
Colre de violins, 1962
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
photo: J. Geleyns
ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2015

(18821963)
1912
Georges Braque (18821963)
Mozart Kubelick, 1912
Private Collection | Bridgeman Images
ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2015

In the modernist age, the violin became for the avant-garde a privileged vehicle
for all sorts of formal explorations. The instruments distinctive shape was a
haunting leitmotif in Braque and Picassos cubist compositions: dismantled
and deconstructed, the evocative power of the violins familiar lines resisted
complete abstraction. Incidentally, in Violins: Mozart Kubelick from 1912 (New York,
Metropolitan Museum), Braque paid tribute to the Czech violinist Jan Kubelk, the
former owner of the 1728 Kubelk, von Vecsey violin in the present catalogue
(page 112). Fascinated by kinetic photography and optical effects, the futurist artist
Giacomo Balla chose the violin as a privileged subject to explore the possibilities
of rendering motion through paint, in his hypnotic The Hand of the Violinist
(1912; London, Estorick collection). Exploiting the anthropomorphic qualities of
the instrument, the surrealist artist Man Ray projected his erotic fantasies onto
the violins voluptuous curves with his iconic photograph from 1924, Le Violon
dIngres, in which he painted the f-holes of the stringed instrument on the back

THE ART OF MUSIC

57

(Salvador Dal)
(1939 )
(Arman)
(1962)

(18901976)
1924
Man Ray (18901976)
Le Violin dIngres, 1924
BI, ADAGP, Paris/Scala, Florence
Man Ray Trust/ADAGP,
Paris and DACS, London 2015

58

THE VIOLIN IN VISUAL ART

of his mistress Kiki de Montparnasse. Through this visual pun, he established a


dialectical relationship whereby he objectified the female body while breathing
life into an instrument whose various parts bear names corresponding to the
human form: the neck, waist, belly, rib and soul. In a similar surrealist spirit,
Salvador Dals nightmarish vision of a melting violin in Daddy Longlegs of the
evening Hope! (1939; Dallas, Dallas Museum of Art) was used as a metaphor
of both war and sexual impotence. As the century moved forward, the violin
fell victim to the iconoclastic gesture of the pop sculptor Arman, who in Violin
Anger (1962; Brussels, Muses Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique) smashed
and pulverised the instrument. This gesture of creative destruction may have
reflected Armans attempt to break free from an instrument that has fascinated,
obsessed and possessed artists for over five centuries.

(19041989)
1940
Salvador Dal (19041989)
Daddy Longlegs of the evening Hope!, 1940
Salvador Dal Museum, St. Petersburg,
Florida, USA | Bridgeman Images
Salvador Dal, Fundacin Gala-Salvador Dal, DACS, 2015

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59

60

1673

DU PRE, HARRELL

1673 STRADIVARI
THE DU PRE, HARRELL
VIOLONCELLO

61

THE ART OF MUSIC

1673

DU PRE, HARRELL

1673 du Pr

65 27

1961William E.

William E. Hill and Sons

1700

Hill and Sons16

1961215

Courtauld Trust (Ismna

Jacques Francais

Holland)

1983 713

(Domenico Montagnana; 1686

1961

1750) (Francesco Goffriller; 1692

1962 321 BBC

1750) (G.B. Grancino; 16371709)

(David Tecchler;

Sara Pacey ()(1965 )

16661748)

1965

1673 Stradivari

Sara Pacey

76
81

1983

ex-du Pr, Harrell

Jacques Franais

(Lynn Harrell)

du

1720

Pr 1697 C astelbarco

2006

1698 De Kermadec Blss1698

Magg

(Nina Kotova)

W.E. Hill & Sons

62

(16441737)
Du Pre, Harrell 1673
Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1673
30 (76.9)

63

THE ART OF MUSIC

Antonio Stradivari (16441737)


A Violoncello, Known as the du Pr, Harrell, Cremona, 1673
Labelled Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1673
Length of back: 30 in. (76.9 cm.)

64

1673 STRADIVARI
THE DU PRE, HARRELL
VIOLONCELLO
Documents
William E. Hill and Sons,
London, February 15, 1961
Jacques Franais,
New York, 13 July 1983

Provenance
W.E. Hill & Sons
Jacqueline du Pr
Sara Pacey (loaned to) 1965
Lynn Harrell
Nina Kotova
Current owner

Of the surviving instruments made by Antonio


Stradivari there exist fewer than 65 violoncellos
compared with his large output of violins. Of
these 65, only 27 cellos remain that are dated
before 1700. This may be explained by the small
demand for cellos in the 17th century due to
the limited performance repertoire for the
instrument. It may also be that the market
was well saturated with works by Domenico
Montagnana (16861750), Francesco Goffriller
(16921750), G.B. Grancino (16371709) or the
German-born Roman David Tecchler (16661748),
who all excelled at making violoncellos.
The 1673 Stradivari is typical of all early Stradivari
cellos in that originally it was constructed on a
much larger outline than we are accustomed
to today. With body lengths averaging between
76 cm. and 81 cm. and broader across the
bouts, they have all been reduced in size to
accommodate ease of playing. The du Pr,
Harrell shares many attributes with these
early Stradivari in its Rubenesque and sensuous
outline. It should be noted that Stradivari used
a local poplar (populus nigra) sourced in the Po
Valley region for the du Pr. In examining the
1697 Castelbarco, the 1698 De Kermadec Blss
and 1698 Magg cellos, Stradivari undoubtedly
had sourced a stock of poplar cut from the
same tree, as evidenced by the similar grain

pattern these instruments share. The earliest


reference to the 1673 du Pr cello was the
sale in 1961 to the then 16-year-old Jacqueline
du Pr via London dealers William E. Hill
and Sons. Purchased with funds supplied
by the Courtauld Trust and her godmother
Ismna Holland, the young du Pr used this
instrument for her recital debut at Wigmore
Hall in 1961 and her concerto premiere with
the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal
Festival Hall on 21 March 1962. The success
of these concerts catapulted her short and
celebrated career. Within three years du Prs
artisty had outgrown the instrument and
by 1965 she had loaned the instrument to
a friend, British cellist Sara Pacey, though it
remained in du Prs ownership.
Prior to du Prs tragic death, the cello was
sold via New York dealer Jacques Franais
in 1983. The new owner was American cellist
Lynn Harrell, who performed with the Stradivari
as well as a 1720 Montagnana. In 2006 the
cello changed hands again, this time passing
to Russian cellist Nina Kotova. Her primary
performance instrument, it can be heard on
her Warner Classics recording of Bach Suites
for Unaccompanied Cello. Since being acquired
by the current owner, the cello has continued to
be made accessible to Ms Kotova.

THE ART OF MUSIC

65

(19451987)

(William Pleeth)
16

(Sir John Barbirolli)

(Daniel Barenboim)
Courtauld Trust 1673 1961

1964 1971
19731987
du
Pr Stradivari

(1944)
1944
12 Lev Aronson
1961
1971

(Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute)

Jacqueline du Pr
G.MacDomnic/Lebrecht Music & Arts

66

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67

68

1673 STRADIVARI | THE HARRELL, DU PRE

LYNN HARRELL (B. 1944)


Cellist Lynn Harrell was born in New York City in 1944 to a baritone father and violinist
mother. He moved to Dallas aged 12 to study under Lev Aronson. He later attended
the Juilliard School in New York and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He
debuted in 1961 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Since his
recital debut in 1971 he has performed all over the world including a recital for Pope
John Paul II as well as holding important positions in the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Institute and at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

JACQUELINE DU PRE, OBE (19451987)


Jacqueline du Pr is regarded as one of the leading English cellists of the second
half of the 20th century. She began to learn the cello under her mother (a talented
pianist at the Royal Academy of Music) and later studied at the London Violoncello
School, the Guildhall School of Music and privately with William Pleeth. She made
her official debut at the Wigmore Hall in London at the age of 16 the year before
she enrolled at the Conservatoire de Paris. She won international recognition,
helped by her recording of the Elgar Concerto for EMI (with the London Symphony
Orchestra and Sir John Barbirolli), as well as by her high-profile marriage to pianist
and conductor Daniel Barenboim. From 1961 to 1964 she performed mainly with
this 1673 Stradivari, a gift from her godmother and the Courtauld Trust. In 1971 du
Pr began to lose sensitivity in her fingers and other parts of her body and was
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her last public concert was in 1973 but she went
on to live until 1987, when she died in London. Her cello passed to Lynn Harrell,
who officially renamed it the du Pr Stradivari in her honour.

Lynn Harrell
Suzie Maeder/Lebrecht

1686

KOCHANSKI, ROSENHEIM

1686 STRADIVARI
THE KOCHANSKI,
ROSENHEIM VIOLIN

71

THE ART OF MUSIC

1686

KOCHANSKI, ROSENHEIM
Ex-Kochaski, Rosenheim

1686

1690

1660

166_

35.6

Stradivari6

16.911.6 20.9

1686

William E. Hill and Sons


1898 1115
Rembert Wurlitzer Inc.
19671128
John and Arthur Beare Ltd
19671215
Charles Beare
19671113

Willy

Rosenheim

(Paul Kochaski)

1679 Hellier1685

Guyot1686 Rosgonyl

(Bornstein)1967Sylvia Cleaver

Ex-Kochaski, Rosenheim

H.K. Goodkind
Iconography
of Antonio Stradivari
1972210211( )
727759
E.N. Doring
How Many Strads
194556
W.H.A.F. A.E. Hill
Antonio Stradivari, His Life & Work
190238
The Strad190612

Willy Rosenheim

Sylvia Cleaver

72

(16441737)
Ex-Kochaski, Rosenheim 1686
Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1686
P606
14(35.6)

73

THE ART OF MUSIC

Antonio Stradivari (16441737)


A Violin, Known as the Kochanski, Rosenheim, Cremona, 1686
Labelled Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1686
and bearing the catalogue number P-606
Length of back 14 in., 35.6 cm.

74

1686 STRADIVARI
THE KOCHANSKI,
ROSENHEIM VIOLIN
Documents
Certificates, William E. Hill and Sons,
London, 15 November 1898
Rembert Wurlitzer Inc.,
New York, 28 November 1967
John and Arthur Beare Ltd.,
London, 15 December 1967
Letter, Charles Beare,
London, 13 November 1967

Literature
H.K. Goodkind, Iconography of
Antonio Stradivari, Larchmont, NY,
1972, il. pp. 210, 211, pp. 727, 759
E.N. Doring, How Many Strads,
Chicago, 1945 p. 56
W.H., A.F. and A.E. Hill, Antonio
Stradivari, His Life & Work,
London 1902 p. 38
The Strad, London, December 1906

Provenance
Willy Rosenheim
Paul Kochaski
Einstein Family
Bornstein
Sylvia Cleaver
Current owner

The 1686 Kochaski, Rosenheim comes from


what is commonly referred to as Stradivaris
Amatise Period. It would be a misconception to
believe that all of Stradivaris works prior to 1690
were of the diminutive and feminine outline
associated with the Amatis. With a back length of
35.6 cm. and width across the bouts of 16.9 cm.,
11.6 cm. and 20.9 cm., it shares dimensions and
attributes associated with the bolder Golden
Period works though on closer examination
the influences of Nicol Amati are still present:
notably the exceptionally fine workmanship
and a full arch that begins its descent sooner
to the edging, making for wider and shallower
channeling and a more robust edge than seen
on any Amati. The masculine composition
all translates to a surprisingly bold-sounding
violin. As with the 1679 Hellier, the 1685 Guyot
and the 1686 Rosgonyl, the one-piece back
is carved from the same handsomely figured
slab-cut maple. What is interesting to scholars
and collectors is that the violin bears one of

Stradivaris earliest labels. These were printed


for use in the decade of the 1660s and left
the last year of the date blank. With the preprinted label reading 166_Stradivari showed
typical thrift and business acumen. Changing
the third digit 6 to an 8 by hand, he dated the
violin correctly as 1686.
The first recorded owner of the violin
was Willy Rosenheim who is said to have
loaned the instrument to Polish violinist and
composer Pawe Kochaski early in his career.
In the early 20th century the violin made
its way to the United States where it was in
the possession of the Einstein family before
being sold to the New York violinist Bornstein.
In 1967 it was purchased by Sylvia Cleaver
(an original member of the British ensemble
the Element Quartet, which championed the
works of composer Robert Simpson) and is
now part of the current collection.

THE ART OF MUSIC

75

(1887-1934)
1887
(Emil Mynarski) 189814

(18871982)1900
1911 (Zosia Kohn)
1913
(Igor Stravinsky; 18821971)
1916
(Sergei
Prokofiev; 18911953)1924

193446

Pawe Kochaski
Lebrecht Music & Arts

76

THE ART OF MUSIC

77

78

1686 STRADIVARI | THE KOCHANSKI, ROSENHEIM

PAWEL KOCHANSKI (18871934)


Pawe Kochaski was born in 1887 in Odessa, where he first studied the violin
with his father and then at age 7 with Emil Mynarski. In 1901 he became the
concertmaster of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. At the beginning of his
virtuoso career he met pianist Arthur Rubinstein (18871982), with whom he gave
joint performances in Warsaw and on tour in Europe. In 1911, Kochaski married
Zosia Kohn and received this Stradivari violin from his father-in-law as a wedding
present. Around 1913, Kochaski met composer Igor Stravinsky (18821971), who
dedicated a transcription for violin and piano of three pieces from The Firebird to the
violinist. In 1916 Kochaski taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire where he
befriended composer Sergei Prokofiev (18911953) and later moved to London
and New York. He taught at the Juilliard School from 1924 until his death from
cancer at the age of 46.

Pawe Kochaski
Tully Potter Collection

THE ART OF MUSIC

79

80

1694

MUIR-MACKENZIE

1694 STRADIVARI
THE MUIR-MACKENZIE
VIOLIN

81

THE ART OF MUSIC

1694

MUIR-MACKENZIE
1694 Muir-MacKenzie

Antonio Stradivari, His Life and Work

K.S. Muir-Mackenzie Ernest

320

Doring Muir-Mackenzie

Muir-MacKenzie

1920 Puttick & Simpson 1,700

Cooper

(Fritz Siegel)

1692 Bennett

Maria Grevesmhl1996

William E. Hill and Sons


1902412
William E. Hill and Sons
1902412
Alfred Vidoudez
1947930
Etienne Vatelot
1970518

1693 Harrison1694

Benecke

Antoniusu

1690

Muir-MacKenzie

Charles Wilmotte

(Charles Francois Gand)

C.G. MeierW.E. Hill

16901699

& Sons

360365

(Robert Crawford)1716

80

Messiah

(David Laurie)W.E. Hill1902

Gand, Charles-Eugene
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTIF des
Instruments de Stradivarius et
Guarnerius del Ges. Spa: Les Amis de la
Musique1994 (1870)
W.H.A.F. A.E. Hill
Antonio
Stradivari, His Life & Work
190248
H.K. Goodkind
Iconography of
Antoinio Stradivari 1644-1737
1972254 211 ( )
728756
E.N. Doring
How Many Strads,
Chicago1945 8384
W. Henley
Antonio Stradivari
196129
R. Hargrave
The Strad
1985

Charles Wilmotte

C.G. Meier
W.E. Hill & Sons

Van de Weghe
W.E. Hills & Sons
Muir-Mackenzie
Arthur Swinburne
Puttick & Simpson ( )
Cooper
M. Mouton

Maria Grevesmhl

82

(16441737)
Muir-MacKenzie 1686
Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1694
14 3/ 16 (36.2)

83

THE ART OF MUSIC

Antonio Stradivari (16441737)


A Violin, Known as the Muir-MacKenzie, Cremona, 1694
Labelled Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1694
Length of back 14 3/16 in., 36.2 cm.

84

1694 STRADIVARI
THE MUIR-MACKENZIE VIOLIN

Documents
Certificate, William E. Hill and Sons,
London, 12 April 1902
Provenance letter, William E.
Hill and Sons, London, 12 April 1902
Certificate, Alfred Vidoudez,
Geneva, 30 September 1947
Certificate, Etienne Vatelot,
Paris, 18 May 1970

Literature
Gand, Charles-Eugene. CATALOGUE
DESCRIPTIF des Instruments de
Stradivarius et Guarnerius del Ges. Spa:
Les Amis de la Musique, 1994 (1870)
W.H., A.F., and A.E. Hill, Antonio Stradivari,
His Life & Work, London 1902 p. 48
H.K. Goodkind, Iconography
of Antonio Stradivari 1644-1737,
Larchmont, NY, 1972,
il. p. 254, 211, pp. 728, 756
E.N. Doring, How Many Strads,
Chicago, 1945 pp. 83-84
W. Henley, Antonio Stradivari,
Sussex, 1961, p.29
R. Hargrave, The Strad,
London, 1985

Provenance
Charles Wilmotte
Charles Francois Gand
C.G. Meier
William E. Hill and Sons
Robert Crawford
David Laurie
Mr. van de Weghe
William E. Hill and Sons
Lady Muir-Mackenzie
Mrs Arthur Swinburne
Cooper
M. Mouton
Fritz Siegal
Maria Grevesmhl
Current owner

The 1694 Muir-Mackenzie survives in


extraordinarily fine condition with little to no
structural repairs. This is a rare occurrence
for a violin that is 320 years old. It shares the
attributes of all of Stradivaris Long Pattern
violins with the elegant outline he achieved
by lengthening the body. The edgework,
placement of the f-holes and geometry of the
c-bouts all flow together to create a striking
silhouette. Like the 1692 Bennett, it is one of
the longer violins of this period and shares the
same strongly figured two-piece maple back
as the 1693 Harrison and 1694 Benecke. Of
interest to historians of Stradivaris work, the
label of the Muir-Mackenzie was printed with
the rare inverted u in Antonius, verifying that
movable type was used in setting the printed
characters of Stradivaris labels.
The provenance of the Muir-Mackenzie reads
like a top ten list of violin connoisseurship in
the 19th and 20th centuries. Starting with the
Belgian violinist Charles Wilmotte, the violin
passed though the shop of Charles Franois
Gand to the collector C.G. Meier. From Meier,
the Hills brokered a sale to the collector Robert
Crawford, who owned the famous Messiah
Stradivari of 1716 now housed at the Ashmolean
Museum in Oxford. The next recorded owner
was the ubiquitous violin connoisseur and
dealer David Laurie. By the time of writing of
the Hills Antonio Stradivari, His Life and Work
in 1902, the violin was in the possession of

a Mr. K.S. Muir-Mackenzie who Ernest Doring


claimed was the husband of the Lady
Muir-Mackenzie. In 1920 the violin was sold
at auction via Puttick & Simpson for the sum
of 1,700 to a Mr. Cooper. Through the 20th
century the violin changed hands a number
of times, including passing to American
violinist Fritz Siegel and later German violinist
Maria Grevesmhl. Following the death of
Ms Grevesmhl in 1996, the violin changed
ownership once before being purchased by
the current owner.

The Long Pattern


By 1690 Antonio Stradivari, in search of a pattern
that would enhance tonal quality and projection
of the violin, turned to ideas and a geometry
already well established by the Brescian masters
of the 16th century. He jettisoned the smaller
and more feminine Amati outlines so prevalent
in Cremonese making and produced violins of
increasing body size and boldness. Stradivari
continued on this track for the next nine years.
From 1690 to about 1699 the bulk of his output
was violins measuring between 36 cm. and
36.5 cm. (with some exceptions). There are 80
surviving Stradivari violins from this time, now
known as the Long Period the vast majority
of which are of this longer outline. Violinists
find these instruments more powerful and
tonally balanced than earlier works and excellent
for the concerto repertoire so essential in
soloists careers today.

THE ART OF MUSIC

85

(19181989)

Fritz Siegal
Carnegie Mellon University

86

THE ART OF MUSIC

87

88

1694 STRADIVARI | THE MUIR-MACKENZIE

FRITZ SIEGEL (19181989)


Fritz Siegel was a highly respected concertmaster of leading American orchestras
and opera companies. He started violin lessons at the age of three, taught by his
father, in his native Vienna before emigrating to the US with his family at the age
of five. In a career spanning half a century, Siegel served as concertmaster of the
Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Boston Pops and Pittsburgh Symphony orchestras as
well as the North Carolina Symphony.

Fritz Siegal in 1976


Carnegie Mellon University

THE ART OF MUSIC

89

90

1705

BARON VON DER LEYEN,


KLAVENESS

1705 STRADIVARI
THE BARON VON DER LEYEN,
KLAVENESS VIOLIN

91

THE ART OF MUSIC

1705

BARON VON DER LEYEN


KLAVENESS
1705 Klaveness

Rembert Wurlitzer Inc.


19691227

35.516.7
20.7

Klaveness

H.K. Goodkind
Iconography of Antonio
Stradivari 164417371972
352( )
730753
E.N. Doring
How Many Strads
1945127
W. Henley
Antonio Stradivari
196145

35.4

1705Joest
1707Hammer

Friedrich Heinrich von der Leyen


Anton Fredrik Klaveness
Emile Herrmann
Maulsby Kimball
Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.
Rembert Wurlitzer Inc.
Harold Kohon

92

(16441737)
Baron von der Leyen, Klaveness 1705
Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1705
8773
13 15/16 (35.4)

THE ART OF MUSIC

93

94

95

THE ART OF MUSIC

Antonio Stradivari (16441737)


A violin, known as the Baron von der Leyen, Klaveness, Cremona, c. 1705
Labelled Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1705
and bearing the catalogue number 8773
Length of back: 13 15/16 in. (35.4 cm.)

96

1705 STRADIVARI
THE BARON VON DER LEYEN,
KLAVENESS VIOLIN
Documents
Certificate, Rembert Wurlitzer Inc.,
New York, 27 December 1969

Literature
H.K. Goodkind, Iconography
of Antonio Stradivari 16441737,
Larchmont, NY, 1972,
il. p. 352, pp. 730, 753
E.N. Doring, How Many Strads,
Chicago, 1945 p. 127
W. Henley, Antonio Stradivari,
Sussex, 1961, p.45

Provenance
Baron Friedrich Heinrich von der Leyen
Anton Fredrik Klaveness
Emile Herrmann
Maulsby Kimball
Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.
Rembert Wurlitzer Inc.
Harold Kohon
Current owner

The 1705 Klaveness is a classic example of


Stradivaris early Golden Period work. With
body lengths hovering at 35.5 cm. and the
upper and lower bouts at 16.7 cm. and 20.7 cm.
respectively, these instruments project a
grace and flow of the outline that has come
to epitomise Stradivaris work.
The fact that the Klaveness measures 35.4 cm.
does not lessen its visual impact. With its striking
one-piece maple back and similar measurements
in width, the Klaveness echoes the 1705 Joest
and 1707 Hammer Stradivari violins.

THE ART OF MUSIC

97

98

1715

TITIAN

1715 STRADIVARI
THE TITIAN VIOLIN

99

THE ART OF MUSIC

1715
TITIAN

(16441737)
Titian 1715
Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1715

13 7/ 8 (35.2)
Albert Caressa
(Tiziano Vecelli) Titian

Titian (Simone
Sacconi)

Titian Comte Dvry Comte de


Sauzay (Pierre Baillot ;
17711842) Gand & Bernardel FrresWilliam
Baker 1916 Caressa & FrancaisCaressa & Francais

33,000 (1918
2014)

TitianRudolph Wurlitzer CompanyWolfe Wolfinsohn


Felix M. WarburgWolfe Wolfinsohn401965
Rembert Wurlitzer Samuel Mehlman J. Irwin
Miller

2000

Caressa & Francais


Rembert Wurlitzer

Gand, Charles-Eugene
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTIF des
Instruments de Stradivarius et
Guarnerius del Ges , Spa: Les Amis
de la Musique19941870
H.K. Goodkind
Iconography of
Antonio Stradivari 1644-1737
1972446-447
733762
E.N. Doring
How Many Strads
1945191193
194
C. Beare
Capolavori di Antonio
Stradivari1987
8687
C. BeareB.Carlson
Antonio Stradivari, The Cremona
Exhibition of 1987
199324204319
205209309
S. Zygmuntowicz
The Strad20092
W. D. Orcutt
The Stradivari
Memorial 16441737
1977The Strad19968
A. Caressa
Violons Par Antonius
Stradivarius

()

(previous)
Cho-Liang Lin
Sophie Zhai

Comte dvry
Comte de Sauzay
Gand & Bernardel Frres
Willam Baker
Caressa & Fransais
Jos de Ygartua
Caressa & Francais
Erich Lachmann

(Efrem Zimbalist)
Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.
Felix M. Warburg
Samuel Mehlamn
Joseph Irwin Miller

100

1715 STRADIVARI
THE TITIAN VIOLIN
Instrument kindly on loan for display purposes. Not for sale.

Documents

Antonio Stradivari (16441737)

Certificates, Caressa & Francais, Paris


Rembert Wurlitzer, New York

A Violin, known as the Titian, Cremona, 1715


Labelled Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1715,
the two-piece back of medium to wide curl descending from the centre joint, the side
similar, scroll of almost plain maple, the top of medium grain, the varnish of a red colour.
Length of back: 13 in., 35.2 cm.

Literature
Gand, Charles-Eugene. CATALOGUE
DESCRIPTIF des Instruments de
Stradivarius et Guarnerius del Ges. Spa:
Les Amis de la Musique,
1994 (1870)
H.K. Goodkind, Iconography of Antonio
Stradivari 1644-1737, Larchmont, NY, 1972,
il. pp. 446447, pp. 733, 762
E.N. Doring, How Many Strads, Chicago,
1945 il. pp. 191, 193, il. p.194
C. Beare, Capolavori di Antonio
Stradivari, Milan 1987, il. pp. 86-87
C. Beare and B. Carlson, Antonio
Stradivari, The Cremona Exhibition of
1987, London, 1993, pp. 24, 204 319, il. pp.
205209 and 309
S. Zygmuntowicz, The Strad, London,
February 2009
W. D. Orcutt, The Stradviari Memorial
16441737, New York 1977, The Strad,
August 1996
A. Caressa, Violons Par Antonius
Stradivarius, Paris

Provenance
Comte dvry
Comte de Sauzay
Gand & Bernardel Frres
Willam Baker
Caressa & Francais
Jos de Ygartua
Caressa & Francais
Erich Lachmann
Efrem Zimbalist
Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.
Felix M. Warburg
Samuel Mehlamn
Joseph Irwin Miller
Current owner

This violin owes its name to the Parisian dealer Albert Caressa, who likened the
instruments rich red varnish to the red pigments favoured by 16th-century Venetian
painter Tiziano Vecelli, called Titian. This is a work that was produced during Stradivaris
Golden Period but differs from many of this time in its more diminutive back length.
This supports the argument that Stradivari did not confine himself to a singular idea of
geometry but would construct works to fit the needs of a specific player. It was one of
the most favoured Stradivari instruments of the restorer Simone Sacconi, who held it in
high esteem for the beautiful and classic execution of its workmanship.
It is commonly held that the first owner was the Comte Dvry. It then passed to another
French nobleman, Comte de Sauzay son-in-law of Pierre Baillot (1771-1842), the
celebrated violinist and founding member of the Paris Conservatoire. Via the Parisian
firm of Gand & Bernardel Frres, the violin was sold to the Bostonian William Baker
before returning to Paris in about 1916 to the dealers Caressa & Francais, who brokered
it at least twice the last instance taking it back to the US, where Russian soloist Efrem
Zimbalist (18891985) purchased it for the reported sum of $33,000. At the time, the
acquisition made news in the belief that it was the highest price ever paid for a violin.
From Zimbalist the violin changed hands via the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, which
sold it to Felix M. Warburg, patron of violinist Wolfe Wolfinsohn and the Stradivari Quartet;
it served as Wolfinsohns primary instrument for almost 40 years. In 1965, the Titian was
sold through Rembert Wurlitzer to Samuel Mehlman and then again to the collector
and art patron J. Irwin Miller. A scion of American banking, industry and philanthropy,
Miller was an amateur violinist whose connoisseurship and passions extended to the
collecting of Modern and Impressionist painting and American post-war art, as well as
the support and patronage of post-war modern architecture. Following the death of
Miller in 2000, the violin remained in the Miller family until recently, when it was made
accessible to the soloist Cho-Liang Lin.

THE ART OF MUSIC

101

102

1717

PIATTI

1717 STRADIVARI
THE PIATTI VIOLIN

103

THE ART OF MUSIC

1717

PIATTI
1717

73

Rudolph Wurlitzer Co
.1931224
Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.
1931224
William E. Hill and Sons
193139
William E. Hill and Sons
193139
Max Mller and Zoon
1986624

1707

Piatti



W.E. Hill 1931

1714
The Dolphin

W.H.A.F.A.E. Hill
Antonio Stradivari, His Life & Work
1902
H.K. Goodkind
Iconography
of Antonio Stradivari
972 486()
733758
E.N. Doring
How Many Strads
1945212()
213214
W. Henley
Antonio Stradivari
196165
The Strad198512
Lyon & Healy
Collection of Rare
Old Violins1945
T. Ingles
Four Centuries

of Violin Making: Fine Instruments


from the Sothebys Archive
2006540541()
E.N. Doring
Violins & Violinists
19384

1986319152

(John Betts)
Rowland Watkin Wynn
George Ashley
Emmington
Arthur Betts
Henderson
Simon Andrew Forster

(Alfredo Carlo Piatti)


John Pawle
Gabriele Wietrowitz
Nathan E. Posner
Eugenio Sturchio
John W. Coggeshall
Alfred O. Corbin
Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.
Frank Miles Yount
Lyon & Healy
C. Michael Paul

104

(16441737)
Piatti 1705
Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1717
7663
13 15/16 (35.4)

105

THE ART OF MUSIC

Antonio Stradivari (16441737)


A Violin, Known as the Piatti, Cremona, 1717
Labelled Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1717,
and bearing the catalogue number 7663
Length of back: 13 15/16 in., (35.4 cm.)

106

1717 STRADIVARI
THE PIATTI VIOLIN

Documents
Certificate, Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.,
New York, 24 February 1931
Letter, Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.,
New York, 24 February 1931
Certificate, William E. Hill and Sons,
London, 9 March 1931
Provenance letter, William E. Hill
and Sons, London, 9 March 1931
Certificate, Max Mller and Zoon,
Amsterdam, 24 June 1986

Literature
W.H., A.F., and A.E. Hill, Antonio Stradivari,
His Life & Work, London 1902
H.K. Goodkind, Iconography of Antonio
Stradivari 16441737, Larchmont,
NY, 1972, il. p. 486, pp. 733, 758
E.N. Doring, How Many Strads, Chicago,
1945 il. p. 212, pp. 213214
W. Henley, Antonio Stradivari,
Sussex, 1961, p.65
The Strad, Il. December 1985
Lyon & Healy, Collection of Rare Old
Violins, Chicago, 1949 p. il. 212, pp. 213214
T. Ingles, Four Centuries of Violin Making:
Fine Instruments from the Sothebys
Archive, Boston 2006, pp and il. 540541
E.N. Doring, Violins & Violinists, April 1938
Sothebys Musical Instruments sale
catalogue, London 19 March 1986, Lot 152

Provenance
John Betts
Sir Rowland Watkin Wynn
George Ashley
Emmington
Arthur Betts
Henderson
Simon Andrew Forster
Alfredo Carlo Piatti
John Pawle
Gabriele Wietrowitz
Nathan E. Posner
Dr Eugenio Sturchio
John W. Coggeshall
Alfred O. Corbin

Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.


Frank Miles Yount
Lyon & Healy
C. Michael Paul
Current owner
By 1717 Stradivari was unquestionably at the peak
of his creative powers. At the age of 73 he was
acknowledged as the premier luthier in Cremona.
He could count among his clients the wealthiest
collectors, musicians and patrons in Europe,
allowing him to charge the highest prices for
his instruments and make them from the finest
materials. This success was earned despite the
loss of Spanish patronage due to Hapsburg rule
in Lombardy in 1707, which adversely affected
so many of Stradivaris contemporaries.
The Piatti violin is a classic work from Stradivaris
Golden Period. The model employed from the
highly figured maple, the purfling terminating in his
signature elegant mitred corners to the classically
composed scroll all illustrate Stradivaris
unsurpassed skill in workmanship and design.
The result is a violin of superior tonal and aesthetic
quality, one truly fit for a concerto soloist.

In the W.E. Hill letter of 1931, the violin is described
as a good and typical example of the period of the
makers work, very similar in general proportions
to the celebrated example known as 'The Dolphin'
of the year 1714. It is no small wonder that the
violins history of ownership is well represented by
marquee names of 19th and 20th century musical
instrument connoisseurship.

THE ART OF MUSIC

107

(18221901)
1822

Gaetano Zanetti

Carlo Alfredo Piatti


Public Domain

Vincenzo Merighi15

(Franz Liszt)

108

THE ART OF MUSIC

109

110

1717 STRADIVARI | THE PIATTI

CARLO ALFREDO PIATTI (18221901)


Carlo Alfredo Piatti was born in Bergamo, Italy, in 1822, the son of a violinist.
He originally began studying the violin before switching to the cello under the
tutelage of his great uncle Gaetano Zanetti. When Zanetti died Piatti joined the
Milan conservatory under Vincenzo Merighi, made his concert debut at 15 and
started touring a year later. However he was not immediately successful and
when he later fell ill he was forced to sell his cello. It was only when Franz Liszt
invited him to appear as a guest performer at one of his recitals that Piattis
artistry was recognised and the Hungarian composer presented him with a new
instrument. Piatti went on to become the leading cellist of his day, known for both
his composing and performing talents.

THE ART OF MUSIC

111

112

1728

KUBELIK, VON VECSEY

1728 GUARNERI DEL GESU


THE KUBELIK,
VON VECSEY VIOLIN

113

THE ART OF MUSIC

1728

KUBELIK, VON VECSEY

Ambache

1722 1722

1730

(Peter

Biddulph)

1728 Kubelik von Vecsey

Joseph Guarneri)

1728 Kubelik

35.5

16.7 20.3

M. Krancsevics

1905

(Ludwig von Vecsey)

4.4 (

(Franz von

Vecsey)

1910

(Maggini)

Peter Biddulph
2014 128

1974 117()
Ilona de Regczy
N. Ambache
1975 415()
Ilona de Regczy
N. Ambache
1977 1129()
John Dilworth
Ambache
1997 613()
Juan Mann
Ilona de Regczy
1956 91()
Jan Kubelik
Herrn L. von Vecsey()
Ludwig von Vecsey
1910422()
John Topham
2005 48

Ilona de

1727

RegczyDe

Dancla

Regczy 1975

80

N.

Ambache

W.E. Hill 1932 The


Violin-Makers of the Guarneri Family (1626
1 76 2 ) J o s e p h
Guarnerius Andreas Nepos

John Topham

(Carlo
Bergonzi)
1732
1740
17291743

19752
1322136

Krancsevics
Jan Kubelk
Ludwig von Vecsey
Ilona de Regczy
N. Ambache

114

(16981744)
Von Vecsey, Kubelik 1728
Joseph Guarnerius Andreas Nepos / fecit Cremonae Anno 1728
13 15/16 (35.5)

THE ART OF MUSIC

115

Giuseppe Bartolomeo Guarneri, del Ges (16981744)


A Violin, Known as the Von Vecsey, Kubelk, Cremona c. 1728
Labelled Joseph Guarnerius Andreas Nepos / fecit Cremonae Anno 1728
Length of back: 13 15/16 in. (35.5 cm.)

116

1728 GUARNERI DEL GESU


THE KUBELIK,
VON VECSEY VIOLIN
Documents
Certificate, Peter Biddulph,
London, 28 January 2014
Letters, Sothebys, London,
7 November 1974 (copy)
Professor Ilona de Regczy, Stockholm,
15 April 1975 to Dr N. Ambache (copy)
Professor Ilona de Regczy,
Stockholm, 29 November 1977
to Dr N. Ambache (copy)
John Dilworth, Twickenham, 13 June 1997
to Dr. Ambache (copy)
Juan Mann, Barcelona, 1 September
1956, to Ilona de Regczy (copy)
Bill of Sale, Jan Kubelk, Edinburgh to
Herrn L. von Vecsey (copy)
Ludwig von Vecsey, Berlin,
22 April 1910 (copy)
Dendrochronology, John Topham,
Redhill, 8 April 2005
In Mr. Tophams dendrochronology
analysis he writes: In addition
to significantly cross-matching
chronologies, both sides significantly
cross-match fronts from many
instruments by classical Italian makers,
particularly other Guarneri del Ges
and Carlo Bergonzi violins. For example
several of the highest matches occur
with a variety of violins made by Carlo
Bergonzi dated between 1732 and 1740
and three Guarneri del Ges violins
dated between 1729 and 1743. The
matches are very good and suggest the
pieces either came from the same tree
or very closely neighboring trees.

Literature
Sale Catalogue, Sothebys Fine Musical
Instruments, London, 13 February 1975,
Lot 221, p. 36

Provenance
M. Krancsevics
Jan Kubelk
Ludwig von Vecsey
Ilona de Regczy
Dr N. Ambache
Current owner

The early life of Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri


del Ges is for the most part shrouded in
mystery. What we do know is that by 1722 he
was no longer living in his fathers home and
the dearth of instruments dating between 1722
and 1730 leads us to believe that he was not
actively employed as a full-time violin maker.
What few examples of his work from this time
do exist tell us that he was a well-trained maker
with a creative streak albeit without the
patient tool-handling skills of Stradivari or of his
own father. This lack of early examples by del
Ges is testament to the historical importance
of the 1728 Kubelk, von Vecsey.
Unknown to scholars of Guarneri del Ges
until recently, this violin traded hands between
multiple musicians from the late 19th century
until well into the 20th century. From a
Budapest violinist, M. Krancsevics, the violin
was sold to Czech soloist Jan Kubelk who in
turn sold the violin in about 1905 to Ludwig
von Vecsey for the use of his son, Hungarian
violinist Franz von Vecsey. After acquiring
a Stradivari, in 1910 von Vecsey sold the
Guarneri to another Hungarian violinist, Ms
Ilona de Regczy, then studying in Berlin with
his son. Miss de Regczy performed on the
violin throughout her career until, at the age of
80, she sold it via Sothebys in 1975. Unfamiliar
with the early works of del Ges or one
bearing such a unique label, the specialists at
Sothebys offered the instrument as a work by
a member of the Guadagnini family, owing to
the fact that it had an original G.B. Guadagnini
scroll at the time. The buyer was a London
physician and amateur violinist with a very
keen eye: Dr N. Ambache.
Dr Ambache always suspected that he had
purchased a more significant violin than
described in the sale catalogue and set about

gathering as much provenance documentation


as he could. After the death of Dr Ambache
the violin was presented to London instrument
expert Peter Biddulph for examination and
appraisal. After extensive research, the violin
was recognized as an early work by del Ges.
The G.B. Guadagnini scroll was replaced with a
more fitting head cut by the father of del Ges,
Joseph Guarneri (filius Andreae).
Visually, the initial impression of the 1728
Kubelk is of a classically composed violin.
With a body length of 35.5 cm. and 16.7 cm. to
20.3 cm. across the upper and lower bouts, it
is based on a Stradivari model but with slightly
more curvature in the outline. The f-holes are
set wide apart at 4.4 cm. at the upper lobes
(in a manner reminiscent of Guarneris older
brother Pietro and of Carlo Bergonzi, both of
whom would have been in the workshop when
young Bartolomeo was receiving his training).
The full arching of these early works begins to
show the influences of Maggini by rising from
the modest channeling on the edges. The
scroll by Joseph filius Andreae is classically
composed and similar to the 1727 Dancla. With
its bold outline and its evenly placed tool marks
around the volute, it has all the hallmarks of
a work by del Gess father. The varnish, as
always with del Ges, is lustrous in texture and
in this instance of an orange-gold colour.
Of special importance to historians of
Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri is the fact that
this violin bears a rare Guarneri label unknown
to the Hills in 1932 when they published their
seminal work The Violin-Makers of the Guarneri
Family (1626-1762). Believed to be authentic,
this label printed Joseph Guarnerius Andreas
Nepos pays homage to Guarneris grandfather
and Guarneri family traditions and its existence
was unknown to modern scholars until recently.

THE ART OF MUSIC

117

(18931935)
1883
19101920
12D
1935
42

(18801940)
(Jan Kubelik) 1880
(Karel Weber)
(Karel Ondek)
18
(1901)
19011902
1903Anna Julie Marie Szll von Besseny
19101728 (
Kubelik, von Vecsey)
(Nellie Melba)
(Gounod)

1940

Franz von Vecsey


Public Domain

118

THE ART OF MUSIC

119

120

1728 GUARNERI DEL GESU | THE KUBELIK, VON VECSEY VIOLIN

JAN KUBELIK (18801940)


Jan Kubelk was born in 1880 in what is now part of Prague. His father an
amateur violinist recognised his sons natural talents and he was sent to study
with Karel Weber and Karel Ondek before entering the Prague Conservatory
aged eight. At 18 he started touring as a soloist, becoming renowned for his
full, noble tone and virtuoso handling of the instrument. Successful concerts in
Vienna, London and, in 1901, the USA, led to his first appearance for the Royal
Philharmonic Society, London, in the 19012 season, following which he was
awarded the Societys Gold Medal. In 1903 he married the niece of a former
Prime Minister of Hungary, Countess Anna Julie Marie Szll von Besseny. In
1910, Kubelk began using the 1728 Guarneri del Ges violin now known as the
Kubelk, von Vecsey violin. He made numerous recordings, most famously a
version of the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria with Dame Nellie Melba (18611931),
which was one of the early classics of the gramophone and helped make the then
new technology a popular success. Kubelk died in 1940 in his native Prague.

FRANZ VON VECSEY (18931935)

Jan Kubelk
Public Domain

Born in 1893, violinist and composer Franz von Vecsey was a child prodigy at the turn
of the century in Budapest before becoming one of Europes leading violinists in
the 1910s and 1920s. He was the re-dedicatee of Jean Sibeliuss Violin Concerto in
D minor at the age of 12. After the First World War, von Vecsey tired of touring and
decided to dedicate himself to conducting. He became seriously ill with
a pulmonary embolism in 1935 and died aged 42.

THE ART OF MUSIC

121

122

1735

PARLOW, VIOTTI

1735 GUARNERI DEL GESU


THE PARLOW, VIOTTI VIOLIN

123

THE ART OF MUSIC

1735

PARLOW, VIOTTI
1730 1735

Emile Herrmann
(#1499)
William E. Hill & Sons
J&A Beare Ltd

William E. Hill

Kathleen Parlow 1735

35.0

4.2

W.H.A.F. A.E. Hill


The
Violin-Makers of the Guarneri
Family (16261762)1932
84101
B. Henderson
The Strad
19107
The Strad1964
G. SingerA. Lim
The
Emile Herrmann Collection
2017II

1737King Joseph

Piere Baillot
Pillet-Will
Henry Luc
Caressa & Francais
Hamma & Co.
Max Pringsheim
Wilhelm Hermann Hammig
Bjrnson

Theodore Marchetti
Frederick E Haenel
Joseph Hull
J&A Beare Ltd

124

(16981744)
Viotti, Kathleen Parlow 1736
Joseph Guarnerius fecit / Cremone anno 1736
13 3/ 4 (35)

THE ART OF MUSIC

125

Giuseppe Bartolomeo Guarneri, del Ges (16981744)


A Violin, Known as the Viotti, Kathleen Parlow, Cremona, c. 1735
Labelled Joseph Guarnerius fecit / Cremone anno 1735
Length of back 13 in. (35 cm.)

126

1735 GUARNERI DEL GESU


THE PARLOW, VIOTTI VIOLIN

Documents
Certificates, Emile Herrmann, (certificate
#1499), Berlin and New York
William E. Hill & Sons, London
J&A Bewe Ltd, London

Literature
W.H., A.F., and A.E. Hill,
The Violin-Makers of the Guarneri Family
(16261762), London, 1932, pp. 84, 101
B. Henderson, The Strad,
London, July 1910,
The Strad, January London, 1964
G. Singer and A. Lim, The Emile
Herrmann Collection,
New York, 2017, Vol II

Provenance
Giovanni Battista Viotti
Piere Baillot
Count Pillet-Will
Dr. Henry Luc
Caressa & Francais
Hamma & Co.
Max Pringsheim
Wilhelm Hermann Hammig
Bjrnson family
Kathleen Parlow
Theodore Marchetti
Frederick E Haenel
Joseph Hull
J&A Beare Ltd
Current owner

Works by Guarneri del Ges spanning the


years 17301735 represent the apex of his
development as a violin maker. No longer
answering to the style of his father and master
Joseph filius Andreae, del Ges had begun
following a path of insatiable and personal
originality. Some of del Gess most attractive
examples were produced during this period,
in what the Hills called the perfect combination
of youthful finish and refined style.
The 1735 Parlow, Viotti was created in
what is believed to be del Gess most prolific
year of production. The model is now fixed at
35.0 cm, reminiscent of Amati, and with little
variation in length except in a few notable
exceptions. The Brescian-styled f-holes have
become elongated and more open in the
body, with the unmistakable flaring at the
upper wings. Set with a spacing of 4.2 cm.
at the upper lobes, they take full advantage of
the acoustic properties of the lower and fuller
arch. The scroll is cut from plain maple, as was
so often Guarneris choice. The back is carved
from one piece of well-figured, slab-cut maple
reminiscent of the 1737 King Joseph.

THE ART OF MUSIC

127

(17551824)
1755 (Alfonso dal
Pozzo della Cisterna) 17731780

1788 Thtre de Monsieur


1792

1800
1735Parlow, Viotti1811
1813
182433

(18901963)
1890

(Mischa Elman)
(Leopold Auer)
45
Einar BjrnsonBjrnson2,000
1929
1940
195910
1963819

Giovanni Battista Viotti


Lebrecht Music & Arts

128

THE ART OF MUSIC

129

130

1735 GUARNERI DEL GES | THE PARLOW, VIOTTI

KATHLEEN PARLOW (18901963)


Born in 1890 in Fort Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Kathleen Parlow was recognised as a
child prodigy aged four. In order to seek the best tutors the family relocated to Europe,
deciding on the tuition of Leopold Auer after attending a concert by his pupil Mischa
Elman. Parlow became the first foreigner to attend the prestigious St. Petersburg
Conservatoire and the only woman in a class of 45 students. On a tour of Germany
she met Einar Bjrnson, a wealthy Norwegian who became her friend and patron
and who bought her this Guarneri del Ges violin for 2,000. Parlow toured widely in
Europe, North America and Asia before being appointed to the faculty of Mills College in
Oakland, California in 1929. In 1940 she returned to Canada to give recitals and teach at
the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. In October 1959, she was appointed head of
the College of Music of the University of Western Ontario. She died on 19 August 1963.

GIOVANNI BATTISTA VIOTTI (17551824)

Kathleen Parlow
Public Domain

Born in 1755 in Piedmont, Italy, Viotti was taken into the household of Alfonso dal
Pozzo della Cisterna in Turin in order to receive a musical education. He served at
the Savoia court in Turin from 1773 to 1780 before touring as a soloist. He was an
instant hit in Paris, served at Versailles and founded an opera house called Thtre
de Monsieur in 1788. The French Revolution made Viottis royal connections
dangerous however and he moved to London in 1792. He was a great success
in the capital until England went to war with revolutionary France and he was
suspected of being a Jacobin. He seems to have initially gone to Hamburg, then
returned to live secretly in the English countryside, establishing a wine business.
Around 1800 he acquired the 1735 Guarneri del Ges violin now called the Parlow,
Viotti. He became a British citizen in 1811 and in 1813 founded the Philharmonic
Society of London. After a brief spell in Paris as director of the Acadmie Royale
de Musique, Viotti died in London on 3 March 1824.

THE ART OF MUSIC

131

132

1736

LAFONT

1736 GUARNERI DEL GESU


THE LAFONT VIOLIN

133

THE ART OF MUSIC

1736

LAFONT
1736 Lafont 1735

Parlow, Viotti

1857Christies & Mason

Berhmte Geigen
18961221
Celebrated Violins
and Their Owners
The Strad19993
R. Millant
J.B.Vuillaume: Sa
Vie et Son Ouevre
197212069

Lafont


35
Parlow

1735
DEgville1732King Joseph

Lafon t

Lafont
DEgville
King Joseph
1726 Stretton

(Charles Philippe Lafont)


J.P. Thibout
Charles Davis
James Goding
Jeane de Proumansky
Alfred Brodsky
W.E. Hill and Sons
Anton Maaskoff
Dr. Simon Ramo
Bein & Fushi

134

(16981744)
Lafont, Brodsky 1735
Joseph Guarnerius fecit / Cremone anno 1735
13 3/ 4 (35)

THE ART OF MUSIC

135

Giuseppe Bartolomeo Guarneri, del Ges (16981744)


A Violin, Known as the Lafont, Brodsky, Cremona c. 1736
Labelled Joseph Guarnerius fecit / Cremone anno 1736
Length of back: 13 in. (35 cm.)

136

1736 GUARNERI DEL GESU


THE LAFONT VIOLIN

Documents
Certificate, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume,
Paris, 27 November 1857
Certificate, William E. Hill and Sons,
London, 30 May 1940
Provenance letter, William E. Hill
and Sons, London, 30 May 1940

Literature
Berhmte Geigen, 21 December 1896
Celebrated Violins and Their Owners,
The Strad, March 1999
R. Millant, J.B.Vuillaume: Sa Vie et Son
Ouevre, London 1972, p.120, p. 69

Provenance
Charles Philippe Lafont
J.P. Thibout
Charles Davis
James Goding
Jeane de Proumansky
Alfred Brodsky
William E. Hill and Sons
Anton Maaskoff
Dr. Simon Ramo
Bein & Fushi
Current owner

As with the 1735 Parlow, Viotti, the 1736 Lafont


was made at the height of Guarneris creative
powers. The similarities to the 1735 Parlow
are striking yet there is evidence of a freer
and easier hand at work. As with all Guarneris
instruments of this period, the purfling is a little
thinner in width than earlier Cremonese masters,
tapering out to a mitred joint that meets at the
centre of each corner. The body length again
falls at a petit 35 cm. but, unlike the Parlow, the
width has increased across the bouts. This and
other elements make for a very elegant visual
impression. Reminiscent of the 1735 DEgville
or 1732 King Joseph, del Ges chose a striking
sample of highly figured maple for the two-piece
back and matched this wood on the sides. This
last attribute was never a guaranteed choice for
del Ges as he would often use mismatched or
plainer maple for his ribs and scroll; the scroll in
this case, though highly figured, probably dates
from a later work by del Ges.
What was often a constant is the high quality
of the spruce Guarneri used for his tables. The
Lafont sports an exceptional top plate with the
pronounced water or sap mark on the flanks,
again mirroring the DEgville and the King
Joseph as well as many later works. Because
this unique wood shows up as early as the
1726 Stretton, it can be assumed that Guarneri
purchased a large supply of this spruce from the
same source early in his career.

THE ART OF MUSIC

137

(17811839)
1781
(Rodolphe Kreutzer) (Pierre Rode)
1792
1808
1815
1839

(18511929)
1851

18661868
1873188112
4

D (Hans Richter) 1883 1891

(Johannes Brahms)
(Edvard Grieg) 1897
1736Lafont
18911894

1929

(1971 )
1971 831
(Zakhar Bron)
1114

1517

138

THE ART OF MUSIC

139

140

1736 GUARNERI DEL GES | THE LAFONT

CHARLES PHILIPPE LAFONT (17811839)


Born in Paris in 1781, Charles Philippe Lafont received his first violin lessons from
his mother before learning the classical Viotti technique from Rodolphe Kreutzer
and Pierre Rode. He began touring as early as 1792, at the age of 11, giving
successful concerts in Germany and beyond. He left France at the outbreak of
the Revolution, travelling through Europe and eventually becoming chamber
violinist to Alexander I, tsar of Russia, in 1808. He returned to France in 1815 to
serve as first violinist of Louis XVIIIs royal chamber musicians. He was killed in
1839 when the carriage in which he was travelling overturned.

ADOLPH BRODSKY (18511929)


Born in 1851 in Taganrog on the Sea of Azov, Brodsky started music lessons aged
five. At nine he gave his first concert, in Odessa, where a wealthy patron was so
impressed he gave Brodsky the money to study at the Vienna Conservatoire.
He worked as a member of the court orchestra in the city from 1866 to 1868
before spending four years touring and eventually settling in Moscow in 1873. On
4 December 1881, Brodsky premiered Tchaikovskys Violin Concerto in D major
(which was dedicated to him) under the baton of Hans Richter, on this del Ges
violin. Brodsky taught at the Leipzig Conservatoire from 1883 to 1891 and founded
his own string quartet. While in Leipzig he gave a Christmas dinner attended
by Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Grieg. In 1897 he acquired the Lafont del Ges,
now played by Vadim Repin. Brodsky became concertmaster of the New York
Symphony Orchestra from 1891 to 1894 before moving to Manchester to teach at
the Royal Manchester College of Music and direct the Hall Orchestra, which he
did until his death in 1929.

VADIM REPIN (B. 1971)

Lafont
Vadim Repin playing
the Lafont violin

Born in Siberia on 31 August 1971, Vadim Repin started playing violin at the age of
five and studied with Zakhar Bron when he was teaching privately in Novosibirsk.
Aged 11 he debuted in Moscow and St Petersburg, at 14 in Tokyo, Munich, Berlin
and Helsinki, and at 15 in New York. At 17 he became the youngest winner of
the most prestigious violin competition in the world, the Queen Elisabeth Music
Competition in Brussels. Repin has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna
Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and the
London Symphony Orchestra, and frequently appears at festivals around the world.
Specialising in Russian music especially the great violin concertos and French
music, as well as 20th century and contemporary repertoire, Repin has recorded a
wide selection of works and is now regarded as one the worlds leading musicians.

15001750

Andrea Amati is born


in Cremona

Titian completes
The Venus of Urbino

(14881576)
1538

View of Cremona
shutterstock.com

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)


(c. 14881576)
Venus of Urbino, before 1538
Galleria degli Uffizi,
Florence, Italy
Bridgeman Images

Andrea Amati dies


NMM 3351 The King

NMM 3351. Violoncello, The King


by Andrea Amati, Cremona,
mid-16th century
Witten-Rawlins Collection, 1984
National Music Museum

Antonio Stradivari is born

Antonio Stradivari
Private Collection
Look and Learn
Elgar Collection
Bridgeman Images

1644

1598

1577

1564

1538

1506

1505

1500

First year of Zhengde


Emperors reign

Galileo Galilei and


William Shakespeare are born

First performance
of The Peony Pavilion

11

1651
(15641616)
1610

2007

Emperor Zhengde
11th ruler of the
Ming Dynasty
Pictures from History
Bridgeman Images

Attribute to John Taylor (d. 1651)


Portrait of William Shakespeare
(15641616), c. 1610
Public Domain

Suzhou KunQu Opera Theater


of China performing The
Peony Pavilion in 2007
shutterstock.com

ART & MUSIC 15001750

Vermeer paints
Girl with a Pearl Earring

Start of Stradivaris
Golden Period

Stradivari dies

(Jan
Vermeer16321675)

16651666

Baron von der Leyen

,
1705

Stamp used by Stradivari


on his labels

Antonio Stradivari (16441737)


A violin, known as the
Baron von der Leyen,
Klaveness, Cremona, c. 1705

Jan Vermeer (163275)


Girl with a Pearl Earring c. 16656
Mauritshuis, The Hague,
The Netherlands
Bridgeman Images

Taj Mahal is completed

Bartolomeo Giuseppe
Guarneri (Del Ges) is
born

The Kangxi Cidian


dictionary is published

Del Ges dies

Image of the original


Guarneri label, 1744

The Taj Mahal


shutterstock.com

1700
Italian School
Guarneri del Ges, c. 1700
Public Domain

Chinese School
K'ang-hsi
Public Domain

1744

1750

1744

1737

1716

1700

1698

1665

1653

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Christie's would like to thank the following people for their help
in the presentation of this collection:

Contributors
Peter Biddulph
Andrew Fairfax
Richard Gagliardi
Vadim Repin
Aleksei Sobolevsky

Local Implementation
Maxwell Yao (Shanghai)
Stephenie Leung (Hong Kong)

Print Production and Distribution


Grant Deudney
Stuart Toms

English Editing
Maria Howard

Editorial Photography
Visko Hatfield
OPUS3ARTISTS
Sophie Zhai

Creative Direction
Lorena Durn

Chinese Editing

Vince Lung

Print Design
Michael de la Lama
Aniela Gil
Clover Stevens

Exhibition Design
Mathilde Le Coutour

Digital Design
David New

Editorial Video Content


Jane Burton

Project Management
Laura Christenberry
Julie Edelson
Sarah Rancans

Marketing Management
Caroline Koch

Private Sales Coordination


Flora Turnbull

Pre-Press
Piers Courtney
Digital Studio London
Adam Hogg

Christie's Photo Studio


New York

Press
Cristiano de Lorenzo
Hannah Schweiger
Michelle Zhang

Finance Direction
Chris Forrest

CONTRIBUTORS

Andrew Dipper

Andrew Dipper

Andrew Dipper

Andrew Dipper is a member of the American


Federation of Violin and Bowmakers and
consultant conservator of Yale Universitys
Collection of Musical Instruments. He
holds a degree in fine art and sculpture
from the Central School of Art and Design
and studied violin making in London and
Cremona. Together with Cristina Rivaroli,
he translated and edited S Sacconis book
The Secrets of Stradivari.

Cristina Rivaroli

The Secrets of Stradivari


Stewart Pollens
Stewart PollensViolin Advisor LLC

1976 2006

Emma Capron

Director of Violin Advisor LLC, Stewart Pollens


was conservator of musical instruments
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from
1976 to 2006. A widely published academic
and author, he is the recipient of numerous
publication awards including the American
Musical Instrument Societys 1997 Bessaraboff
Prize for The Early Pianoforte [Cambridge
University Press, 2009] and the 2011 Choice
Outstanding Academic Title award for
Stradivari [Cambridge University Press, 2010].

Emma Capron

Emma Capron

Emma Capron is a PhD candidate in art


history at the Courtauld Institute in London.

1997 The Early Piano


2009

2011 Stradivari

2010 Choice

Lafont
Vadim Repin playing
the Lafont violin

Stewart Pollens

(Pablo Neruda)

Suddenly the voice of a violin,


Thin and hungry,
Floated on the evening air
Like a stray dogs howling.
It was my companion,
It was mankind howling,
It was someone elses loneliness
loose upon the sand.
Pablo Neruda

Heinrich Heine

Where words leave off, music begins


Heinrich Heine

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