How do I identify a violin maker?
How do I identify a violin maker?
You can find a label inside the (usually) left hand f-hole in the violin. Not all violins have labels, and you may have to blow away the dust and move the violin under the light to see whether yours does. Many labels are fake, but even fake labels might give an idea of who made the violin.
How do you date a violin?
The first way to tell if your instrument is old (modern), old (actually old) or fake old, is to look for a neck graft. Old violins (and violas and cellos) have neck grafts because they were crafted in an era when instruments had shorter necks.
How many violin makers are there in Cremona?
The Italian cradle of violin making, today Cremona has more than one hundred violinmaking workshops. Stringed instruments like the violin and the viola have been crafted here since the 16th century, with new makers following in the footsteps of Antonio Stradivari and Niccolò Amati, the greatest violin luthiers.
How can you tell a good violin?
When you look at the seams of the violin, they should be elegantly sealed with no visible glue or rough edges. The more finely carved the scroll, the higher the quality of the violin. On a quality violin, the purfling, or the thin black lines that outline the top of the violin, will be inlaid, rather than painted.
What is a Cremonese luthier?
Cremonese luthiers standardized the violin family of instruments, and Cremonese violinmaking techniques are still considered by many to be the best in the world. Each instrument is handmade and assembled with more than 70 different molded pieces of wood.
Where to get an old violin appraised?
For such an appraisal, we recommend that you have your instrument examined by a reliable violin dealer in your area. Although we are not allowed to recommend a particular appraiser, we suggest you contact the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers, Inc. to obtain a membership list.
Who are the Cremonese violin makers?
With this selection of eight brief portraits, we present noteworthy Cremonese violin makers from the modern era. Gio Batta Morassi – whose name was actually Giovanni Battista – came to Cremona at a time when the violin making school there had become irrelevant in a manner that is inconceivable today.
When was Cremona’s violin school founded?
In September 1938 Cremona’s traditional violin-making school was launched, only to be interrupted for a decade by the Second World War. In the 1950s it picked up momentum and went from strength to strength. It inspired and renewed passion for making violins in the tradition of the founding fathers.
How many Stradivarius instruments were made in Cremona?
It all began in 1937 when commemoration celebrations marking the bicentenary of Stradivarius’s death were planned. From far away places like London, Paris and New York 136 instruments arrived in Cremona. Forty-one were by Stradivarius, including his first violin dated 1667 and the last he made in 1737.
Are contemporary violin makers eclipsed by their famous predecessors?
Nevertheless, many contemporary violin makers feel as if they are overshadowed by their famous predecessors, and as a matter of fact people’s fascination with historic masterpieces can make it difficult to appreciate the outstanding achievements of our times.
