Stradivarius violin maker biography. Stradivarius violin (photo)

In 1680, Stradivari left Amati's workshop and began to work independently. The teacher gave him a small amount of money, which was enough to buy a house and materials for making violins and cellos. In the same year, Antonio married Francesca Ferabosci. The Casa del Pescatore house was very small and cheap. The novice master devoted almost the entire room to a workshop, leaving a small room in the attic for living. Antonio worked all day in his workshop. Every new tool, coming out of his hands was better than the previous ones. The voices of Stradivarius violins could already be distinguished among thousands of others. Their free, melodious, enchanting sound was like the voice of a beautiful girl. And Antonio’s childhood love for colors and graceful lines was forever embodied in his violins and cellos. The master loved to decorate his instruments by painting the barrels, neck or corners with small cupids with ripe fruits, lily flowers. Sometimes he inserted pieces of mother-of-pearl, ebony or ivory. Unfortunately, all his efforts were in vain - no one bought Stradivarius instruments, except for rare visiting musicians. Reputable customers preferred Amati violins, willingly shelling out 100 pistoles for the name of the master alone. And for the poor, Stradivari's creations were too expensive. A year later, Antonio's first child, Paolo, was born, and a year later, his second son, Giuseppe. Despite all his efforts, the family languished in poverty. Only a few years later, luck suddenly came to him. Unlike other masters, Stradivari attached great importance to the external design of his instruments, turning them into works of art. In 1700 he made one of his most magnificent violins. Cetera was performed with great love, Antonio put all his skill into it. The curl that completed the instrument depicted Diana's head, entwined in heavy braids, and a necklace was worn around her neck. A little lower he carved two small figures - a Satyr and a Nymph. The satyr hung his goat's legs with a hook, which served to carry an instrument. Both figures were executed with rare grace. A narrow pocket violin - sordino - was made to order no less delicately. The curl, carved from ebony, had the shape of a Negro head. In twenty-five years - from 1700 to 1725 - the master became as famous as his teacher had once been. The recognition was not an accident. Behind this were years of persistent and painstaking work from early morning until late evening. During the day, Stradivari stood at a workbench, and in the evening, in his workshop, hidden from prying eyes, he worked on varnishes and made calculations for future instruments. These years can rightfully be called the master’s golden period. At this time, he was able to create his best violins: in 1704 - Bette, in 1709 - Viotti, in 1715 - Alard, and a year later - Mission. Each of them proudly displayed the mark of Antonio Stradivari: the Maltese cross and the initials A.S. in a double circle. The famous master marked his violins, marking each one with the year the instrument was created. His wooden seal consisted of three movable numbers - 166. For many years, Stradivari added digit after digit to this number, erasing the second six and adding the next two digits by hand. With the advent of the 18th century. the aged master left only one. By the age of forty, Antonio Stradivari had achieved everything he dreamed of. He was fabulously rich. In Cremona there was even a saying: “Rich as Stradivarius.” But the life of the famous violin maker was not happy. His wife Francesca died. He actually lost two adult sons: Paolo went into business and, in search of luck, went on a long journey to America. Giuseppe, the most talented of the sons, became a monk after he was miraculously cured of cholera. On December 31, 1694, at the age of 50, Antonio Stradivari married for the second time - to 17-year-old Maria Zambeli, who also bore him two sons. The older Stradivarius became, the more tormented he was by the thought that he had no one to pass on his knowledge and accumulated experience. Although he had students, and younger sons Omobono and Francesco worked with him, Antonio knew that they would never achieve his mastery. He also had his favorite students: Carlo Bergonzi and Lorenzo Guadagnini. But passing on his knowledge to his students was like stealing from his children. And one more thought haunted him. The famous master had a rival - Giuseppe Guarneri, nicknamed Del Gesu. Undoubtedly, Stradivari was the first master in his field. And his rival Guarneri was able to surpass him only in the strength of the sound of the instrument. Antonio came to the conclusion that, despite the enormous life experience, his skill never reached perfection - the melodious, gentle tone of his violins can be enriched with new colors, greater strength sound. Stradivari was reassured by the fact that eminent customers would not buy Guarneri violins, because they did not need instruments made by a drunkard and a brawler. IN recent months Before his death, Antonio Stradivari made the most important decision in his life - he decided not to reveal the secrets of his craft to anyone.

Biography

It is believed that Antonio Stradivari was born in 1644, although exact date his birth is not registered. He was born in Cremona. His parents were Alessandro Stradivari (Italian: Alessandro Stradivari) and Anna Moroni (Italian: Anna Moroni). It is believed that from 1657 to 1667 he served as an unpaid apprentice to Nicolo Amati, that is, he did menial work. Stradivari married on July 1, 1667 and settled in a fisherman's house (Casa del pescatore), where he opened his own workshop. From this time on, namely from 1667, Antonio does not call himself Amati's student on the labels.

In 1681, Stradivari bought a house located next to the Dominican monastery in Cremona. The house had three floors, each of them had three windows overlooking the square, as well as a basement and mezzanine; in addition, on the roof there was a square extension, characteristic of Cremona, open on both sides - on the south and west and was called by the Cremonese "seccador" "(drying room), it was where the master dried the violins after painting and often worked there in good weather. Stradivari spent the rest of his life in this house.

This house survived untouched until 1880, but then was bought by the owner of a neighboring restaurant and connected to the restaurant, and in the workshop of Stradivarius, the owner of the restaurant located a billiard room.

From the memories of his contemporaries, the master was tall, thin, and always wore a white cap on his head; woolen in winter and paper in summer, as well as a white leather apron when working. Thanks to his work and frugality, the master amassed such a decent fortune that a saying appeared in Cremona: “Rich as Stradivarius.”

On May 20, 1698, Stradivari's wife died, the funeral was lavish, and the master spent a large sum of 182 lire for that time. The following year, 1699, on August 24, Stradivari married a second time. From his first and second marriages, the master had 11 children, and only two, Francesco and Omobono, were engaged in their father’s art, but were able to insignificantly approach their father’s level of skill.

Stradivari had only three students, his two sons - Francesco and Omobono - and Carlo Bergonzi.

Antonio Stradivari died at the age of 93 and was buried on December 10, 1737, in the cemetery of the Dominican monastery (the date of death of December 10, 1737 is indicated on page 96. line 1 and 2 in the book by E. Vitacek “Essays on the History of Manufacturing bowed instruments"edited by B. Dobrokhotov, 1952).

In 1869, the Dominican monastery on the territory where Stradivari was buried was abolished, the remains of all the deceased were dug up and buried in one common grave, outside the city. Thus, the ashes of the great master disappeared without a trace.

Stradivarius made the first violin produced under his own name in 1666 and until 1683 strictly adhered to the Amati style, but from 1688 the master began to experiment and the closer to 1690 his instruments became larger. The violins of this period received the conventional name “amatize”. A sharp departure from the Amati school was revealed only in 1691. and its own type of violin was born. These are the so-called elongated violins (allonge) in which the maple is already exclusively radial cut and the timbre of the sound from soprano changes to mezzo-soprano, but in 1698 he again returned for a short time to the Amati model and only around 1704 at the age of 60 Stradivarius finally constructed his own model of a violin, which no one has yet been able to surpass in perfection. This period lasted from 1704 to 1725, about 21 years. In this interval, two periods are distinguished….from 1704 to 1717. when the spruce on the instruments has a silky shine, regular layering and dense, and the lower soundboards are most often made of one piece. Beginning in 1717, the master began to use the Haselfichte spruce variety for his decks.

In addition to violins, Stradivari also made guitars, violas, cellos and even made one harp - according to various catalogs, the number of his works reaches 1150 units, but given that a significant number of his instruments disappeared under the influence of various disasters, the number of his instruments could reach 500 units .

Stradivarius instruments

• List of instruments created by Antonio Stradivari

The most outstanding instruments were made between 1704 and 1725. Stradivarius violins from this period are highly prized.

To date, about 650 instruments made by Stradivarius have been preserved, including about 450 violins.

His instruments are distinguished by a characteristic inscription in Latin: Antonius Stradivarius Cremonenfis Faciebat Anno 1732, the same inscription appears on the label of a violin from 1697.

On the labels of 1736, the master marked “d ’ anni 92" on the labels of 1737 marked "d ’ anni 93” that is, your age.

5. The museum also has a violin from 1708. There is no label on it, but the label “Brought from Rome by Koretsky to me since 1796 by Prince Shakhovskoy” is pasted on. It was sold to Tretyakov, who bequeathed it to the Rumyantsev Museum, from there it went to the Moscow Conservatory and in 1921 was moved to the State Collection.

6. There is also a violin from 1711 in the collection, which is the best preserved.

7. There is also a medium sized violin with a fake top. The violin was bought by Tretyakov abroad and after his death moved to the Moscow Conservatory, and then in 1921 to the State Collection.

8. The State Collection also has a viola with a label dated 1715 by Stradivarius. It belonged to Count Matvey Yuryevich Venlgorsky and was played for some time by the Belgian violinist (violist?) Henri Vietun (1820-1881).

9. Next in the collection is a cello from 1725. The cello was bought in Paris from Rambaud by the St. Petersburg artist Vorobyov and brought to Russia around 1845.

10. and 11. The State Collection also has two Stradivarius violins, presumably from the period after 1725. The labels have been cleaned and the dates have been replaced.

One of these violins was restored in 1806 by St. Petersburg masters, brothers Franz and Moritz Steininger. It belonged to Prince Trubetskoy, which then came to K. Tretyakov and from him to the Conservatory and then in 1921 to the State Collection.

12. The State Collection also contains a violin from 1736, made by the master a year before his death, at the age of 92. That year Stradivarius made only 4 violins. Prince Yusupov bought this violin in Italy and it was kept in his family until 1918. The last scion of the Sumarokov-Elston family fled to Paris, but walled up the violin in one of the basements of his palace on the Moika, where it was found and transferred to the State Collection. (the list is presented by E. Vitachek in the book “Essays on the history of making bowed instruments”, 1952, edited by B. Dobrokhotov, pp. 213-222).

Also known is the collection of Stradivarius instruments belonging to the King of Spain. Exhibited at the Museum of Musical Instruments of the Royal Palace of Madrid:

• Violin ("Boissier" (1713), which belonged to Boissier, a Swiss violinist at the court of the Spanish king Charles III, later to Pablo Sarasate. Since 1908 it has been kept in the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid.)
• Also owned by the Spanish Crown is the Spanish Quartet (Cuarteto Palatino). It originally existed as a quintet, but the tenor was subsequently lost during the French Revolution. It was intended as a gift to the Spanish king Philip V, who was in Cremona in 1702, but the instruments did not leave the workshop during the life of Antonio Stradivari. The quartet consists of inlaid instruments "Spanish I" (1709), "Spanish II" (1709), contralto "Spanish Court" (1696) and cello "Spanish Court" (1694) and is now kept in Royal Palace Madrid.

In the Museum of Musical Instruments of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia there is a so-called Tuscan violin, also part of the Medici quintet.

Violins and cellos by name with a short history:

• "Delfino" (1714) - "Dolphin". Belonged to Jascha Heifetz. Owned by Nippon Music Foundation since 2000.
• The inlaid Stradivarius violin “Le Lever du Soleil” (“Sunrise”) (1677) - “Sunrise”, has been in the Museum of Historical Curiosities in Vienna since 2004.
• "Marquis de Corberon, Loeb" (1726). It belonged to the French ambassador at the court of Catherine II, Marquis de Corberon. Currently belongs to the Royal Academy of Music in London.
• "Viotti" (1709). It belonged to the Italian violinist Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824). Since 2005 he has been at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
• "Provigny" (1716). Located in the Paris Music Museum (Cité de la Musique, Musée de la Musique).
• "Davidoff" (1708). It belonged to the Russian cellist Karl Davydov (1838-1889). Located in the Paris Music Museum (Cité de la Musique, Musée de la Musique).
• "Messiah" (1716) - "Messiah". Since 1939 it has been kept in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
• "Mendelssohn" (1709). Stolen from Deutsche Bank during the occupation of Berlin.
• "Sleeping Beauty" (1704) - "Sleeping Beauty." Since 1995 it has been owned by Landeskreditbank Baden Württemburg and is owned by violinist Isabelle Faust.
• "Betts" (1704). In 1830-1852 it belonged to Arthur Betts. Since 1936 it has been kept in the Library of Congress.
• "Earl of Plymouth, Kreisler" (1711). Belonged to the Earl of Plymouth Austrian violinist Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962). Since 1965 it has been in the possession of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
• "Le Brun" (1712). Belonged to Nicolo Paganini, Charles le Brun (Paris). Sold at auction in 2008.
• "Eldina Bligh" (1712). Until 1912 it belonged to Eldina Bly. Owned by Virgil C. Brink since 1945.
• "Pingrille" (1713). Since 1979 it has belonged to violinist Gabriel Banat, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic.
• "Lipinski" (1715). It belonged to Giuseppe Tartini, the Polish violinist Karol Joseph Lipinski (1790-1861). Sold in 2007.
• "David Hochstein, Nowell, Joachim" (1715). It belonged to the Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim (1831-1907). Since 1997, it has been owned by William Palmer.
• "Emperor" (1715) - "Emperor". It belonged to the Hungarian violinist Jan Kubelik (1880-1940).
• "Titian" (1715) - "Titian". It got its name because of the transparent red-orange varnish, reminiscent of the paints of Titian Vecellio. In the possession of Irwin Miller.
• "Baron Knoop" (1715). Belonged to Baron Johann Knoop (1846-1918). Since 1992, owned by David L. Fulton.
• "Milstein" (1716). Belonged to an American violinist Ukrainian origin Nathan Milstein (1903-1992). Since 2006 it has been owned by Jerry Cole.
• "Cessole" (1716). It belonged to a close friend of Nicolo Paganini, Count Cessola from Florence.
• "Marquis de Riviere" (1718). In the 19th century it belonged to the Marquis de Riviere. Sold in 1993.
• "Lady Blunt" "Lady Blunt" (1721). Belonged to the granddaughter of the poet Lord Byron, Lady Anne Blunt from 1864 to 1895 (age 31). This violin was also owned by the famous Parisian master Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, collectors - Richard Bennett, Baron Knoop, Sam Bloomfield, as well as the Nippon Music Foundation. Sold in June 2012 at auction at the Tarisio auction house for a price of $15,890,000.
• "King Maximilian, Unico" (1709). It belonged to the Bavarian king Maximilian Joseph in 1806-1826. Was in the Axel Springer Foundation since 1966, stolen.
• "Leonora Jackson" (1714). From 1904 to 1919 it belonged to violinist Leonora Jackson McKim. Since 1984, owned by Dr. William & Professor Judy Sloan.
• "Cremonese" (1715) - "Cremonese". Since 1961 it belongs to the city of Cremona.
• "Colossus" (1716) - "Colossus". It belonged to Viotti, violinist Luigi Alberto Bianchi, and was stolen in 1998.
• "Nachez" (1716). It belonged to violinist Tivador Nashez. Sold in 2003.
• "Eck" (1717). It belonged to the German violinist Franz Eck (1774-1804). Sold in 1992.
• "Hausmann" (1724). It belonged to cellist Georg Hausmann (1814-1861). Sold at auction for $4,500,000.

Reference: These four Stradivarius instruments were purchased by Mrs. Huguette Clark (daughter of copper magnate, senator, and banker from Montana, William A. Clark. She died in 2011 in New York at the age of 104). The first violin "Comte Cozio di Salabue" was made by Stradivarius in 1727 and was played by Paganini after he acquired it from Count Cozio de Salabue in 1817. The second violin "Desaint" was made by Stradivarius in 1680 in the "amatize" style.

The viola, "Mendelssohn", was made in 1731, Stradivari at 86 years old. This is one of the few surviving Strad alts (others are more short name Stradivarius instruments). Cello - "Ladenburg" 1736. It belonged to the Mendelssohn family before becoming the property of Paganini. These instruments are currently owned by the Nippon Music Foundation.

Other Stradivarius are also used by modern musicians. Cello "Davidoff" (1708), currently played by Yo-Yo Ma. The cello “Duport” (1711) belonged to the French cellist Jean Pierre Duport (1741-1818), but was in the possession of Mstislav Rostropovich from 1974 to 2007. Comtesse de Polignac violin (1699), used by Gil Shaham. Violin "Sinsheimer, Perlman" (1714). belonged to violinists Bernard Sinsheimer, Itzhak Perlman, Uto Ugi. Sold at auction in 2005. Violin "Soil" (1714). It belonged to Amedee Soil, the Belgian consul in Moscow in the period 1874-1911. Since 1986, in the possession of violinist Itzhak Perlman.

Antonio the Great Stradivari(Italian: Antonio Stradivari, or Stradivarius lat. Antonius Stradivarius; (1644 ) , Cremona - December 18, Cremona) - famous master of string instruments, student of Nicolo Amati. About 720 instruments of his work have survived.

Biography

Antonio Stradivari is believed to have been born in 1644, although his exact date of birth is not recorded. He was born in Cremona. His parents were Alessandro Stradivari (Italian: Alessandro Stradivari) and Anna Moroni (Italian: Anna Moroni). It is believed that from 1679 he served as a free apprentice to Nicolo Amati, that is, he did menial work.

In addition to violins, Stradivarius also made guitars, violas, cellos, and at least one harp—a total of more than 1,100 instruments, according to current estimates.

Music

• 2015 - “The Stradivarius Violin”, Basta.

Cinema

see also

• Nicolo Amati (1596-1684) - Italy
• Andrea Guarneri (1626-1698) - Italy
• Nicolas Lupo (1758-1824) - France

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An excerpt characterizing Stradivarius, Antonio

The fifth company stood near the forest itself. A huge fire burned brightly in the middle of the snow, illuminating the tree branches weighed down with frost.
In the middle of the night, soldiers of the fifth company heard footsteps in the snow and the crunching of branches in the forest.
“Guys, it’s a witch,” said one soldier. Everyone raised their heads, listened, and out of the forest, into bright light fire, two strangely dressed human figures appeared, holding each other.
These were two Frenchmen hiding in the forest. Hoarsely saying something in a language incomprehensible to the soldiers, they approached the fire. There was one taller, wearing an officer's hat, and seemed completely weakened. Approaching the fire, he wanted to sit down, but fell to the ground. The other, small, stocky soldier with a scarf tied around his cheeks, was stronger. He raised his comrade and, pointing to his mouth, said something. The soldiers surrounded the French, laid out an overcoat for the sick man, and brought porridge and vodka to both of them.
The weakened French officer was Rambal; tied with a scarf was his orderly Morel.
When Morel drank vodka and finished a pot of porridge, he suddenly became painfully cheerful and began to continuously say something to the soldiers who did not understand him. Rambal refused to eat and silently lay on his elbow by the fire, looking at the Russian soldiers with meaningless red eyes. Occasionally he would let out a long groan and then fall silent again. Morel, pointing to his shoulders, convinced the soldiers that it was an officer and that he needed to be warmed up. The Russian officer, who approached the fire, sent to ask the colonel if he would take the French officer to warm him up; and when they returned and said that the colonel had ordered an officer to be brought, Rambal was told to go. He stood up and wanted to walk, but he staggered and would have fallen if the soldier standing next to him had not supported him.
- What? You will not? – one soldier said with a mocking wink, turning to Rambal.
- Eh, fool! Why are you lying awkwardly! It’s a man, really, a man,” reproaches to the joking soldier were heard from different sides. They surrounded Rambal, lifted him into his arms, grabbed him, and carried him to the hut. Rambal hugged the necks of the soldiers and, when they carried him, spoke plaintively:
- Oh, nies braves, oh, mes bons, mes bons amis! Voila des hommes! oh, mes braves, mes bons amis! [Oh well done! Oh my good ones, good friends! Here are the people! O my good friends!] - and, like a child, he leaned his head on the shoulder of one soldier.
Meanwhile Morel sat on best place surrounded by soldiers.
Morel, a small, stocky Frenchman, with bloodshot, watery eyes, tied with a woman's scarf over his cap, was dressed in a woman's fur coat. He, apparently drunk, put his arm around the soldier sitting next to him and sang a French song in a hoarse, intermittent voice. The soldiers held their sides, looking at him.
- Come on, come on, teach me how? I'll take over quickly. How?.. - said the joker songwriter, who was hugged by Morel.
Vive Henri Quatre,
Vive ce roi vaillanti –
[Long live Henry the Fourth!
Long live this brave king!
etc. (French song)]
sang Morel, winking his eye.
Se diable a quatre…
- Vivarika! Vif seruvaru! sit-down... - the soldier repeated, waving his hand and really catching the tune.
- Look, clever! Go go go go!.. - rough, joyful laughter rose from different sides. Morel, wincing, laughed too.
- Well, go ahead, go ahead!
Qui eut le triple talent,
De boire, de batre,
Et d'etre un vert galant...
[Having triple talent,
drink, fight
and be kind...]
– But it’s also complicated. Well, well, Zaletaev!..
“Kyu...” Zaletaev said with effort. “Kyu yu yu...” he drawled, carefully protruding his lips, “letriptala, de bu de ba and detravagala,” he sang.
- Hey, it’s important! That's it, guardian! oh... go go go! - Well, do you want to eat more?
- Give him some porridge; After all, it won’t be long before he gets enough of hunger.
Again they gave him porridge; and Morel, chuckling, began to work on the third pot. Joyful smiles were on all the faces of the young soldiers looking at Morel. The old soldiers, who considered it indecent to engage in such trifles, lay on the other side of the fire, but occasionally, raising themselves on their elbows, they looked at Morel with a smile.
“People too,” said one of them, dodging into his overcoat. - And wormwood grows on its root.
- Ooh! Lord, Lord! How stellar, passion! Towards the frost... - And everything fell silent.
The stars, as if knowing that now no one would see them, played out in the black sky. Now flaring up, now extinguishing, now shuddering, they busily whispered among themselves about something joyful, but mysterious.

X
The French troops gradually melted away in a mathematically correct progression. And that crossing of the Berezina, about which so much has been written, was only one of the intermediate stages in the destruction of the French army, and not at all a decisive episode of the campaign. If so much has been and is being written about the Berezina, then on the part of the French this happened only because on the broken Berezina Bridge, the disasters that the French army had previously suffered evenly here suddenly grouped together at one moment and into one tragic spectacle that remained in everyone’s memory. On the Russian side, they talked and wrote so much about the Berezina only because, far from the theater of war, in St. Petersburg, a plan was drawn up (by Pfuel) to capture Napoleon in a strategic trap on the Berezina River. Everyone was convinced that everything would actually happen exactly as planned, and therefore insisted that it was the Berezina crossing that destroyed the French. In essence, the results of the Berezinsky crossing were much less disastrous for the French in terms of the loss of guns and prisoners than Krasnoye, as the numbers show.

One of the most reputable companies involved in the sale of musical instruments has put up for auction a Guarneri violin made in 1741. The instrument is notable not only for its record price, but also for its history: great 20th-century performers Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zuckerman played this violin. Such auctions happen infrequently and always attract public attention, which the instrument as such is usually undeservedly deprived of. After all, people who turn to classical music first of all choose what to listen to, sometimes by whose performance, but they extremely rarely pay attention to what instrument the musician plays.

This violin, named after the famous Belgian violinist and composer XIX century by Henri Vietun, was made by a Cremonese master three years before his death. Before Vietun, who played it in the last 11 years of his life, the violin was owned by the French master Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, who bought it from a certain Doctor Benziger from Switzerland in 1858. After Vieutang, the violin belonged to the Belgian Eugene Ysaye, then, already in the 20th century, the Englishman Philip Newman played it. I bought the tool for him cousin, businessman and founder of one of the Oxford colleges Isaac Wolfson. After Newman's death in 1966, the violin was acquired by philanthropist and music connoisseur Ian Stutsker, who still owns it today.

It is easy to be surprised at the price of this particular Guarneri violin, because such is the stereotype for any educated person The standard violin is Anthony Stradivari's instrument. It would be foolish to argue that this master was one of the best artisans in Cremona, but experts compare his best violins to vanilla ice cream, while the instruments of Guarneri del Gesù are, in culinary terms, closest to good dark chocolate. And the life of Guarneri, who died at 46, was half as long as that of Stradivari, and only about 140 of his violins survive in the world - several times less than the instruments of his more famous competitor.

The dessert comparison fairly accurately reflects the difference between the violins of these two famous Italians. If Stradivari is, first of all, a lively, light, articulate sound and capable of the slightest changes in tone, then Guarneri instruments sound, in comparison, deeper and heavier. Maybe that’s why one of the Guarneri violins (perhaps the most famous) was the favorite instrument of Niccolo Paganini, who lived a far from rosy life until his death. Paganini, who, by the way, owned several Stradivarius violins, also played important role in popularizing the name of Guarneri, who was practically forgotten after his death.

In one of his letters to Yehudi, Menuhin admitted that he preferred the Vieutang, which he managed to play, to his own Stradivarius violin of 1714. In addition, the maestro owned another Guarneri instrument - the Lord Wilton violin of 1742. The preference of a performer of Menuhin's caliber is an important indication of the true value of a violin, which is not expressed in monetary units at all. Because any outstanding instrument, like an outstanding musical composition, in the hands of the performer is not so much the means that transforms signs into sounds, but, on the contrary, the music itself, for which the performer is only a means. And the nature of the instrument often determines how the performance will turn out.

Of course, in scientific circles there has never been much trust in what cannot be explained, including the presence of meta-content in several pieces of wood glued together and veins stretched over them. Stradivari, Guarneri, Vuillaume, da Salo, an instrument of the 20th century, the 21st century - everything is one, if you approach the issue with scientific point vision. Since the violin repertoire has become rich enough for the violin to be one of the main solo instruments, sophisticated tests have been carried out to determine whether there is any difference between the instruments. Moreover, these tests, in which musicologists, experts and virtuosos participate, usually end with the fact that even the best specialists they confuse where is the Stradivarius, where is the Guarneri, and where is just a good factory violin.

To justify the uniqueness of a particular instrument, scientists try to explain it with one or another objective argument. The sound of ancient violins, for example, was attributed to the very high density of the wood from which they were made. There are also theories according to which the special sound of violins of the 17th - 18th centuries is given by a special composition of glue, trees from a certain geographical region, clever varnishing, and so on. Scientists prefer to attribute the merits of an instrument to the exceptional skill of its creator as a last resort.

Over the years, more and more new means have become available to prove scientific assumptions: X-rays, dendrochronology, biochemical analysis, laser vibrometers and much more. However, even if the scientists are right and a good violin really does not differ from a good violin, there is another aspect, an aesthetic one. For some reason, he played the violin.

Any excellent instrument produced by one or another master or even a factory has a history of creation; behind it there is always a reputation, and therefore the character of a person or company. Moreover, many famous manufacturers started doing musical instruments when they have not yet purchased modern look, and formed them with their own hands. This is the only reason why Bluthner pianos will differ from each other, just as, for example, Greg Smallman's guitars will differ from Jose Ramirez's guitars.

Of course, if you wish, it is not difficult to call this myth-making for another, non-scientific reason: the income of the owner of a rare instrument directly depends on the establishment of such differences. (As the well-known accuser of the world would rightly note here classical music Norman Lebrecht) In human terms, however, this also means denying the differences between instruments with different characters, created by people with different characters. Different people will also have to play on them.

Therefore, it will be a great pity if Guarneri’s Viotan, which risks becoming the most expensive musical instrument in the world, is bought not by some music-loving philanthropist, but by a Japanese museum. And for museum visitors, the value of this violin will be reduced to an audio recording in headphones, the $18 million that was once paid for it, and two paragraphs of text on a plaque describing the exhibit.

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After all, the violins of the great masters were distinguished by some general properties, which arose under the hands of a particular master, as well as the individuality of the “voice”: it is not for nothing that the masters themselves gave individual names to the most outstanding instruments!

When the master had previously developed strategic considerations regarding the general musical and mechanical parameters of the instrument being created, it all began with the selection of material and its preparation for creating the parts of the violin and then, after turning and adjusting all the components to each other, it ended with the fine tuning of the assembled instrument through modification small mechanical and geometric parameters with accompanying sound control, after which the instrument was coated with a special varnish, the secret of which was also a special secret.

A few words about Stradivari...

The most famous in the world violin maker Antonio Stradivari was born in 1644 in Cremona. It is known that already at the age of thirteen he began to study violin making. By 1667, he had completed his apprenticeship with the famous bowed instrument maker Andrea Amati.

Stradivari made his first violin in 1666, but for more than 30 years he searched for his own model. Only in the early 1700s did the master construct his own, still unsurpassed, violin. It was elongated in shape and had kinks and irregularities inside the body, due to which the sound was enriched due to the appearance large quantity high overtones.

Stradivarius made about 2,500 instruments

From that time on, Antonio no longer made fundamental deviations from the developed model, but experimented until the end of his long life. Stradivari died in 1737, but his violins are still highly valued; they practically do not age and do not change their “voice.”

During his life, Antonio Stradivari made about 2,500 instruments, of which 732 are undoubtedly authentic (including 632 violins, 63 cellos and 19 violas). In addition to bows, he also made one harp and two guitars.

It is generally accepted that his most best tools were made from 1698 to 1725 (and the best in 1715). They are especially rare and therefore highly prized by both musicians and collectors.

Many Stradivarius instruments are in rich private collections. There are about two dozen Stradivarius violins in Russia: several violins are in the State Collection of Musical Instruments, one is in the Glinka Museum (where it was given by the widow of David Oistrakh, who, in turn, received it as a gift from Queen Elizabeth of England) and several more - in private ownership.

Scientists and musicians around the world are trying to unravel the mystery of how Stradivarius violins were created. Even during his lifetime, the masters said that he sold his soul to the devil, they even said that the tree from which several of the most famous violins, is debris Noah's Ark. There is an opinion that Stradivarius violins are so good because a real instrument begins to sound truly good only after two or three hundred years.

Many scientists have conducted hundreds of studies on violins using latest technologies, but they have not yet been able to unravel the secret of Stradivarius violins. It is known that the master soaked the wood in sea water and exposed it to complex chemical compounds of plant origin.

At one time it was believed that Stradivari's secret was in the form of the instrument, but later great importance they began to use material that is constant for Stradivarius violins: spruce for the top soundboard, maple for the bottom soundboard. They even believed that it was all about the varnishes; The elastic varnish covering Stradivarius violins allows the soundboards to resonate and “breathe.” This gives the timbre a characteristic “big” sound.

According to legend, Cremonese craftsmen prepared their mixtures from the resins of some trees that grew in those days in the Tyrolean forests and were soon completely cut down. The exact composition of those varnishes has not been established to this day - even the most sophisticated chemical analysis was powerless here.

In 2001, biochemist Joseph Nigiware of the University of Texas announced that he had unraveled the secret of Stradivarius. The scientist came to the conclusion that the special sound of the bowed strings was the result of the master’s efforts to protect them from the woodworm.

Nigiwara found out that when the master created violins, wooden blanks were often affected by woodworm, and Stradivari resorted to borax to protect the unique musical instruments. This substance seemed to solder the molecules of the wood, changing the overall sound of the violin.

When Stradivarius died, the victory over the woodworm Northern Italy was already won, and subsequently the borax was no longer used to protect the tree. Thus, according to Nigiwara, the master took the secret with him to the grave.

Science and Stradivarius

Colin Gough

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The world's most famous violin maker, Antonio Stradivari, was born in 1644 in Cremona. It is known that already at the age of thirteen he began to study violin making. By 1667, he had completed his apprenticeship with the famous bowed instrument maker Andrea Amati.

Stradivari made his first violin in 1666, but for more than 30 years he searched for his own model. Only in the early 1700s did the master construct his own, still unsurpassed, violin. It was elongated in shape and had kinks and irregularities inside the body, due to which the sound was enriched due to the appearance of a large number of high overtones. From that time on, Antonio no longer made fundamental deviations from the developed model, but experimented until the end of his long life. Stradivari died in 1737, but his violins are still highly valued; they practically do not age and do not change their “voice.”

During his life, Antonio Stradivari made about 2,500 instruments, of which 732 are undoubtedly authentic (including 632 violins, 63 cellos and 19 violas). In addition to bows, he also made one harp and two guitars.

It is generally accepted that his best instruments were made from 1698 to 1725 (and the best in 1715). They are especially rare and therefore highly prized by both musicians and collectors.

Many Stradivarius instruments are in rich private collections. There are about two dozen Stradivarius violins in Russia: several violins are in the State Collection of Musical Instruments, one is in the Glinka Museum (where it was given by the widow of David Oistrakh, who in turn received it as a gift from Queen Elizabeth of England) and several more in a private possession.

Scientists and musicians around the world are trying to unravel the mystery of how Stradivarius violins were created. Even during his lifetime, the masters said that he sold his soul to the devil, they even said that the wood from which several of the most famous violins were made were the fragments of Noah's Ark. There is an opinion that Stradivarius violins are so good because a real instrument begins to sound truly good only after two or three hundred years.

Many scientists have conducted hundreds of studies on violins using the latest technologies, but they have not yet been able to unravel the secret of Stradivarius violins. It is known that the master soaked the wood in sea water and exposed it to complex chemical compounds of plant origin.

At one time it was believed that Stradivari's secret was in the shape of the instrument; later they began to attach great importance to the material, which is constant for Stradivarius violins: spruce for the top, maple for the bottom. They even believed that it was all about the varnishes; The elastic varnish covering Stradivarius violins (due to its soft consistency, small dents and scratches on the surface are quickly healed) allows the soundboards to resonate and “breathe.” This gives the timbre a characteristic “big” sound.

According to legend, Cremonese craftsmen prepared their mixtures from the resins of some trees that grew in those days in the Tyrolean forests and were soon completely cut down. The exact composition of those varnishes has not been established to this day - even the most sophisticated chemical analysis was powerless here.

In 2001, biochemist Joseph Nigiware of the University of Texas announced that he had unraveled the secret of Stradivarius. The scientist came to the conclusion that the special sound of the bowed strings was the result of the master’s efforts to protect them from the woodworm. Nigiwara found out that when the master created violins, wooden blanks were often affected by woodworm, and Stradivari resorted to borax to protect the unique musical instruments. This substance seemed to solder the molecules of the wood, changing the overall sound of the violin. When Stradivari died, the victory over the woodworm in Northern Italy had already been won, and subsequently the borax was no longer used to protect the tree. Thus, according to Nigiwara, the master took the secret with him to the grave.