Everything You Need to Know About the Violin From A-Z - ANTONIO STRADIVARI

Stradivari (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hello this is the beginning of my series of articles that will cover everything you need to know about violin from A-Z. I will start this series with Antonio Stradivari.

Antonio Stradivari is known without any competition to be the greatest violin maker in the history of mankind. To this day the quality and sound of his violins remain unsurpassed and they are now worth millions of dollars.

His genius remains a mystery that has never been solved. Over the years many have tried to copy his violins and none have succeeded in creating anything close to matching their sound. The violins themselves have been analyzed extensively in laboratories and everything has been examined from the wood to the varnishes and glues that he used.

The front view image of the Antonio Stradivari violin of 1703. The picture was taken at the Musikinstrumenten Museum, Berlin.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Antonio Stradivari was born in Cremona a small town in Italy in 1644, the exact birth date is unknown. It was there where he would live his entire life and establish his fame the greatest instrument maker ever seen. He was mentored by Nicolo Amati who was also from a family of famous violin makers. While still under Amati he began showing signs of the genius that would characterize his career.

In July 1667 he would marry the first of his two wives Francesca Feraboschim a young widower. After her death in 1698, he would remarry to a woman named Antonia Maria Zambelli. Altogether he had eleven children with the two women.

During his career, he made over a thousand instruments of which only 650 remain today. As well as making violins he also made violas, cellos, and guitars. The years between 1698 and 1720 are known as his golden age it is during this time that he made his finest violins these are the pieces that today sell for millions of dollars.

Antonio Stradivari died at the age of 93 in Cremona leaving behind a legacy of music and artistry that still remains unsurpassed.

By Eric B Hill Eric B. Hill is a professional violin player and teacher with over 20 years experience. Article Source: EzineArticles

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Everything You Need to Know About the Violin From A-Z - The MESSIAH STRADIVARIUS

The Messiah Stradivarius violin by Antonio Stradivari,
on display at the Ashmolean museum
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hello, today I am continuing with my series everything you need to know about the violin from A-Z. We are now on M for the Messiah. The messiah is a violin made by the legendary Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona. The messiah remained in the Stradivarius work shop until his death. After which it was sold and went through many hands finally arriving with French luthier Jean Baptiste Vuillaume.

Where does the name messiah come from?

Vuillaume had bought the violin from a travelling Italian violin dealer named Luigi Tarisio who had constantly boasted of a beautiful violin he had discovered but never brought forth to show anyone.

Upon hearing this the French violinist Delphin Alard, who was son in law to Vuillaume exclaimed "Your violin is like the messiah one waits for him but he never appears!" Thus the violin was baptized with the name Messiah.

When Tarisio died in 1855 Vauillaume, realizing that Tarisio had a large stock of valuable Italian violins, traveled to a farm near Milan belonging to Tarisio where he found and purchased over a 140 instruments including the messiah which had apparently never been used. Even though it was nearly 150 years old it looked as if it had just came from Stradivari's hands

The Messiah was bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England. The conditions in the will of the former owner being that the Museum can never allow the violin to be played. Because of this the instrument is in pristine conditions as it has apparently never been played, it is now one of the most valuable Stradivari violins.

By Eric B Hill Eric B. Hill is an professional violin player and teacher with over 20 years experience. Article Source: EzineArticles

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