Stradivari master of violins. Violin makers: Antonio Stradivari, Nicolò Amati, Giuseppe Guarneri and others

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

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

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 of the violin is the instrument of Antoni Stradivari. It is foolish to argue that this master was one of Cremona's best artisans, but experts compare his best violins to vanilla ice cream, while Guarneri del Gesù's instruments are closest to good dark chocolate in culinary definitions. And the life of Guarneri, who died at 46, was half the life of Stradivari, and only about 140 of his violins have survived in the world - several times less than the instruments of his more famous competitor.

Dessert comparison quite accurately reflects the difference between the violins of these two famous Italians. If Stradivarius is primarily a lively, light, articulated sound capable of the slightest change in tone, then Guarneri's instruments sound, in comparison, deeper and heavier. Maybe that's why one of Guarneri's violins (perhaps the most famous) was Niccolo Paganini's favorite instrument, who lived a far from rosy life until his death. Paganini, who, by the way, owned several Stradivari violins, also played an important role in popularizing the name of Guarneri, who was almost forgotten after his death.

In one of his letters, Yehudi Menuhin confessed that he preferred the Vieutan, on which he was able to play, to his own 1714 Stradivari violin. In addition, the maestro owned another Guarneri instrument - the Lord Wilton violin of 1742. The preference for a performer of such magnitude as Menuhin is an important evidence true price violin, expressed not at all in monetary units. Because any outstanding instrument, like an outstanding musical composition, in the hands of the performer is not so much a means that transforms signs into sounds, but, on the contrary, 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 confidence in what cannot be explained, including the presence of meta-content in several pieces of wood glued together and strung over them. Stradivari, Guarneri, Vuillaume, da Salo, an instrument of the 20th century, the 21st century - everything is the same if you approach the issue from a scientific point of view. Since the violin repertoire has become rich enough for the violin to be one of the main solo instruments, exquisite tests have not ceased to determine whether there is any difference between the instruments. Moreover, these tests, in which musicologists, experts and virtuosos participate, as a rule, end up with the fact that even the best specialists confuse where Stradivari is, where Guarneri is, and where is just a good factory violin.

To justify the uniqueness of this or that instrument, scientists try to explain it by one or another objective argument. The sound of old 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 special compositions of glue, trees from a certain geographical region, cunning varnishing, and so on give a special sound to the violins of the 17th-18th centuries. Attributing the virtues of an instrument to the exceptional craftsmanship of its creator is a last resort for scholars.

Over the years, more and more new tools for proving scientific assumptions have become available: X-ray, dendrochronology, biochemical analysis, laser vibrometers, and much more. However, even if the scientists are right after all and a good violin really does not make a good violin, there is one more aspect, aesthetic. For some reason, he played the violin.

Any excellent tool produced by one or another master or even a factory has a history of creation, it always has a reputation behind it, and therefore the character of a person or company. Moreover, many well-known manufacturers began to make musical instruments when they had not yet acquired a modern look, and formed them with their own hands. This is the only reason why Bluthner pianos will differ from each other, as Greg Smallman's guitars will differ from Jose Ramirez's, for example.

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 a well-known accuser of the world classical music Norman Lebrecht.) From a human point of view, however, this also means denying the difference between instruments with different characters, created by people with different characters. To play on which people will also be different.

Therefore, it will be a pity if Guarneri's Vieuxtan, which risks becoming the most expensive musical instrument in the world, is bought not by some philanthropist eager for music, 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 once paid for it, and two paragraphs of text on a plaque describing the exhibit.

Comment from the forum http://www.classicalforum.ru/index.php?topic=3329.0

After all, the violins of the great masters were distinguished by some common properties that arose under the hands of a particular master, as well as the individuality of the “voice”: it was not without reason 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 created instrument, it all started with the choice of material and its preparation for creating parts of the violin and then, after turning and fitting all the components to each other, it ended with a fine refinement of the assembled instrument through a change in small mechanical and geometric parameters with concomitant sound control, after which the instrument was covered with a special varnish, the secret of which was also a special secret.

A few words about Stradivari...

The most famous violin maker in the world, 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 famous master bowed instruments Andrea Amati.

Stradivarius made his first violin in 1666, but for more than 30 years he was looking 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, thanks to which the sound was enriched due to the appearance a large number high overtones.

Stradivari made about 2500 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 indisputably authentic (including 632 violins, 63 cellos and 19 violas). In addition to bow strings, he also made one harp and two guitars.

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

Many Stradivari instruments are in rich private collections. There are about two dozen Stradivari violins in Russia: several violins are in State collection musical instruments, one - in the Glinka Museum (where it was given by the widow of David Oistrakh, who, in turn, received it as a gift from the English Queen Elizabeth) and a few more - in private possession.

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

Many scientists have conducted hundreds of studies of violins using the latest technology, 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 vegetable origin.

At one time it was believed that the secret of Stradivari was in the form of an instrument, later great importance they began to attach the material, which is constant for Stradivari violins: for the upper deck - spruce, for the bottom - maple. They even thought that the whole thing was in varnishes; The elastic lacquer that covers the Stradivarius violins allows the soundboards to resonate and “breathe”. This gives the timbre a characteristic "surround" sound.

According to legend, the Cremonese masters 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 turned out to be powerless here.

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

Nigivara found out that during the creation of the violin maker, wooden blanks were often struck by a wood borer, and Stradivari resorted to a storm to protect unique musical instruments. This substance, as it were, soldered the molecules of the tree, changing the overall sound of the violin.

When Stradivarius died, the wood-borer was already defeated in Northern Italy, 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 Stradivari

Colin Gough

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

Biography

It is believed that Antonio Stradivari was born in 1644, although the exact date of his 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 to 1679 he served as an unpaid student with Nicolò Amati, that is, he did rough work.

In addition to violins, Stradivari also made guitars, violas, cellos, and at least one harp—more than 1,100 instruments are currently estimated.

Music

• 2015 - "Stradivari Violin", Basta.

Cinema

• - "Night visit", the first film adaptation of the novel by the Weiner brothers "Visit to the Minotaur" about the theft of a Stradivarius violin
• - "Visit to the Minotaur", Antonio Stradivari- Sergey Shakurov
• - The 15th film about the adventures of the British agent James Bond - "Sparks from the Eyes", the plot mentions the Stradivarius cello many times, "Lady Rose", she also saves Bond from a bullet.
• - biographical film "Stradivari", Antonio Stradivari— Anthony Quinn, young Antonio— Lorenzo Quinn.
• - "Red Violin".
• In the 36th episode of Detective School Q, the characters of the film unravel the mystery of the Stradivarius violin.
• In episode 44 of the television series White Collar, the heroes are looking for the stolen violin by Antonio Stradivari.
• In episode 2 of season 1 of National Security Agent, the heroes are also looking for the stolen violin by Antonio Stradivari.
• - In the first film, episodes 1-3 of the series "Investigator Tikhonov", based on the novel by the Weiner brothers "Visit to the Minotaur", the characters are looking for the stolen violin by Antonio Stradivari.

see also

famous masters string instruments

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

Famous Instruments

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An excerpt characterizing Stradivari, Antonio

People fled in horror, not understanding the road, not understanding where their naughty legs were taking them. As if blind, they stumbled into each other, shying into different sides, and again stumbled and fell, not paying attention to the surroundings ... Screams rang everywhere. Crying and confusion seized Bald Mountain and the people watching the execution there, as if only now they were allowing them to see clearly - to truly see what they had done ...
Magdalene got up. And again a wild, inhuman cry pierced the weary Earth. Drowning in the roar of thunder, the cry snaked around like evil lightning, frightening the cold souls with itself ... Freeing Ancient Magic, Magdalene called on the help of the old Gods... She called on the Great Ancestors.
The wind ruffled her marvelous golden hair in the darkness, surrounding her fragile body with an halo of Light. Terrible bloody tears, still alley on her pale cheeks, made her completely unrecognizable... Something like a formidable Priestess...
Magdalene called... Wrapping her hands behind her head, she called her Gods again and again. She called the Fathers who had just lost their wonderful Son... She could not give up so easily... She wanted to return Radomir at any cost. Even if it is not destined to communicate with him. She wanted him to live... no matter what.

But then the night passed, and nothing changed. His essence spoke to her, but she stood dead, not hearing anything, only endlessly calling on the Fathers... She still did not give up.
Finally, when it was getting light outside, a bright golden glow suddenly appeared in the room - as if a thousand suns shone in it at the same time! And in this glow at the very entrance, a tall, taller than usual, human figure appeared... Magdalena immediately understood that it was the one whom she had called so fiercely and stubbornly all night...
“Get up, Joyful one!” the visitor said in a deep voice. This is no longer your world. You lived your life in it. I will show you your new way. Get up, Radomir!..
“Thank you, Father…” Magdalene, standing next to him, whispered softly. Thanks for listening to me!
The elder gazed long and attentively at the fragile woman. Then he suddenly smiled brightly and said very affectionately:
- It's hard for you, sad! .. It's scary ... Forgive me, daughter, I'll take your Radomir. It's not his destiny to be here anymore. His fate will be different now. You wished for it...
Magdalene only nodded to him, showing that she understood. She could not speak, her strength almost left her. It was necessary to somehow endure these last, most difficult moments for her ... And then she will still have enough time to grieve for what she has lost. The main thing was that HE lived. And everything else was not so important.
A surprised exclamation was heard - Radomir stood looking around, not understanding what was happening. He did not yet know that he already had a different fate, NOT EARTHLY ... And he did not understand why he was still living, although he remembered for sure that the executioners did their job superbly ...

“Farewell, my Joy…” whispered Magdalena softly. - Farewell, my dear. I will do your will. You just live... And I will always be with you.
The golden light flared brightly again, but now for some reason it was already outside. Following him, Radomir slowly went out the door...
Everything around was so familiar!.. But even feeling completely alive again, Radomir for some reason knew that this was no longer his world... And only one thing in this old world still remained real for him - it was his wife. .. His beloved Magdalene....
- I will return to you... I will definitely return to you... - Radomir whispered very quietly to himself. Above his head, a huge "umbrella" hung wightman...
Bathed in the rays of golden radiance, Radomir slowly but surely moved after the sparkling Elder. Just before leaving, he suddenly turned around to last time to see her... To take her amazing image with you. Magdalene felt a dizzying warmth. It seemed that in this last look Radomir sent her all the accumulated for their long years love!.. He sent it to her so that she would also remember it.
She closed her eyes, wanting to endure... Wanting to appear calm to him. And when I opened it, it was all over...
Radomir is gone...
The earth lost him, being unworthy of him.
He stepped into his new, still unfamiliar life, leaving Maria Duty and children ... Leaving her soul wounded and lonely, but still the same loving and the same stamina.
Sighing convulsively, Magdalene stood up. She didn't have time to grieve just yet. She knew that the Knights of the Temple would soon come for Radomir to betray his dead body to the Holy Fire, thereby seeing him off. pure Soul into eternity.

The first, of course, was John, as always... His face was calm and joyful. But Magdalena read sincere concern in her deep gray eyes.
– Great gratitude to you, Maria... I know how hard it was for you to let him go. Forgive us all, dear...
“No… you don’t know, Father… And no one knows that…” Magdalena whispered softly, choking on her tears. – But thank you for your participation... Please, tell Mother Mary that HE is gone... That he is alive... I will come to her as soon as the pain subsides a little. Tell everyone that HE LIVES...
Magdalena couldn't take it anymore. She didn't have any more human strength. Collapsing right to the ground, she burst into loud, childish sobs ...

The place and exact date of birth of the notorious Italian violinist-master Antonio Stradivari have not been precisely established. The estimated years of his life are from 1644 to 1737. 1666, Cremona is a mark on one of the master's violins, which gives reason to say that this year he lived in Cremona and was a student Nicolo Amati.

More than 1000 violins, cellos and violas were created by the great master, devoting his life to the manufacture and improvement of instruments that glorified his name forever. About 600 of them have survived to our time. Experts note his constant desire to endow his instruments with a powerful sound and richness of timbre.

Entrepreneurial businessmen, knowing about the high price of the master's violins, with enviable regularity offer to buy fakes from them. All Stradivari methyl the same way. His brand is the initials A.B. and a Maltese cross placed in a double circle. The authenticity of the violins can only be confirmed by a very experienced expert.

Some facts from the biography of Stradivari

The heart of the brilliant Antonio Stradivari stopped on December 18, 1737. Presumably, he could live from 89 to 94 years, creating about 1100 violins, cellos, double basses and violas. Once he even made a harp. Why is the exact year of the master's birth unknown? The point is that in Europe XVII plague reigned for centuries. The danger of infection forced Antonio's parents to take refuge in the ancestral village. This saved the family.

It is also unknown why, at the age of 18, Stradivari turned to Nicolo Amati, a violin maker. Perhaps the heart told? Amati immediately saw in him a brilliant student and took him to his apprentice. working life Antonio started out as a handyman. Then he was entrusted with work on filigree wood processing, work with varnish and glue. So the student gradually learned the secrets of mastery.

What is the secret of Stradivari violins?

It is known that Stradivari knew in great numbers the subtleties of the "behavior" of the wooden parts of the violin, he was revealed the recipes for cooking a special varnish and the secrets of proper installation. In his heart, the master, long before the end of the work, already understood whether the violin could sing beautifully or not.

Many masters high level they could not surpass Stradivari, they did not learn to feel the heart of the tree as he felt it. Scientists are trying to understand what causes the pure unique sonority of Stradivarius violins.

Professor Joseph Nagivari (USA) claims that the maple used by the famous violin makers of the 18th century was subjected to chemical treatment in order to preserve the wood. This influenced the strength and warmth of the sound of the instruments. He wondered: could the treatment against fungi and insects cause such purity and brightness of the sound of the unique Cremonese instruments? Using nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy, he analyzed wood samples from five instruments.

Nagiwari argues that if the effect of a chemical process is proven, it will be possible to change modern technology making violins. Violins sound like a million dollars. And restorers will ensure the best preservation of ancient instruments.

The lacquer that covered Stradivari instruments was once analyzed. It was revealed that its composition contains nanoscale structures. It turns out that even three centuries ago, violin makers relied on nanotechnology.

An interesting experiment was conducted 3 years ago. They compared the sound of a Stradivarius violin and a violin made by Professor Nagivari. 600 listeners, including 160 musicians, assessed the tone and power of the sound on a 10-point scale. As a result, the Nagiwari violin received higher marks. However, violin makers and musicians do not recognize that the magic of their instruments is due to chemistry. Antiquarians, in turn, wishing to maintain a high cost, are interested in preserving the aura of mystery of ancient violins.

The great master of string craftsman Antonio Stradivari has not been with us for almost three centuries. Secret the greatest master never managed to figure it out. Only his violins sing like angels. modern science and the latest technology failed to achieve what for the Cremonese genius was just a craft ...
What is the secret of Antonio Stradivari, did he exist at all, and why did the master not convey the secret to the successors of his kind?

"From some piece of wood..."

As a child, Antonio Stradivari simply went crazy at the sound of music. But when he tried to express by singing what sounded in his heart, it turned out so badly that everyone around him laughed. The boy had another passion: he constantly carried a small pocket knife with him, with which he honed numerous pieces of wood that came to hand.

Parents predicted Antonio a career as a cabinetmaker, which he was famous for. hometown Cremona in northern Italy. But one day, an 11-year-old boy heard that Nicolo Amati, the best violin maker in all of Italy, also lives in their city!
The news could not but inspire the boy: after all, no less than the sounds human voice, Antonio loved to listen to the violin ... And he became a student of the great master.

Years later, this Italian boy would become famous as the manufacturer of the most expensive violins in the world. His products, which were sold in the 17th century for 166 Cremonese liras (about 700 modern dollars), will go under the hammer for 4-5 million dollars each in 300 years!

However, then, in 1655, Antonio was just one of the many students of Signor Amati who worked for free for the master in exchange for knowledge. Stradivari began his career as an errand boy. He rushed like the wind through sunny Cremona, delivering Amati's numerous notes to wood suppliers, a butcher or a milkman.

On the way to the workshop, Antonio was perplexed: why did his master need such old, seemingly worthless pieces of wood? And why does the butcher, in response to the signor's note, often wrap vile blood-red intestines instead of appetizing garlic-smelling sausages? Of course, the teacher shared most of his knowledge with his students, who always listened to him with their mouths open in amazement.

Most - but not all ... Some of the tricks, thanks to which the violin suddenly acquired its own unique, unlike anyone else's voice, Amati taught only his eldest son. Such was the tradition of the old masters: the most important secrets should have stayed with the family.
The first serious business that Stradivari began to entrust was the manufacture of strings. In the house of master Amati, they were made from ... the insides of lambs. Antonio diligently soaked the intestines in some strange-smelling water (later the boy found out that this solution was alkaline, created on the basis of soap), dried them and then twisted them. So Stradivari began to slowly learn the first secrets of mastery.

For example, it turned out that not all veins are suitable for rebirth into noble strings. Most best material, learned Antonio, these are the veins of 7-8-month-old lambs raised in Central and Southern Italy. It turned out that the quality of the strings depends on the pasture area, and on the time of slaughter, on the properties of water, and on a host of other factors…

The boy's head was spinning, but this was only the beginning! Then came the turn of the tree. Here Stradivari understood why Signor Amati sometimes preferred ordinary-looking pieces of wood: it doesn’t matter how the tree looks, the main thing is how it sounds!

Nicolò Amati had already shown the boy several times how a tree could sing. He lightly touched a piece of wood with his fingernail, and it suddenly resounded with a barely audible ringing!

All varieties of wood, Amati told the already grown up Stradivarius, and even parts of the same trunk differ in sound from each other. Therefore, the upper part of the soundboard (the surface of the violin) must be made of spruce, and the lower part of maple. Moreover, the most “gently singing” spruces are those that grew in the Swiss Alps. It was these trees that all Cremonese masters preferred to use.

Like a teacher, no more

The boy turned into a teenager, and then became an adult man ... However, in all this time there was not a day that he did not hone his skills. Friends were only amazed at such patience and laughed: they say, Stradivarius will die in someone else's workshop, forever remaining another unknown apprentice of the great Nicolo Amati ...

However, Stradivari himself remained calm: the score for his violins, the first of which he created at the age of 22, had already reached tens. And even though everyone was branded “Made by Nicolo Amati in Cremona”, Antonio felt that his skill was growing and he would finally be able to get honorary title masters.
True, by the time he opened his own workshop, Stradivari turned 40. At the same time, Antonio married Francesca Ferrabocchi, the daughter of a wealthy shopkeeper. He became a respected violin maker. Although Antonio never surpassed his teacher, orders for his small, yellow-lacquered violins (exactly the same as those of Nicolò Amati) came from all over Italy.

And the first students have already appeared in the Stradivari workshop, ready, like he himself once, to catch every word of the teacher. The goddess of love Venus also blessed the union of Antonio and Francesca: one after another, five black-haired children, healthy and lively, were born.

Stradivari had already begun to dream of a peaceful old age, when a nightmare came to Cremona - the plague. That year, the epidemic claimed thousands of lives, sparing neither the poor nor the rich, nor women, nor children. The old woman with a scythe did not pass by the Stradivari family either: his beloved wife Francesca and all 5 children died of a terrible disease.

Stradivari plunged into the abyss of despair. His hands dropped, he could not even look at the violins, which he treated like his own children. Sometimes he took one of them in his hands, held the bow, listened for a long time to the piercingly sad sound and put it back, exhausted.

Golden period

Antonio Stradivari was saved from despair by one of his students. After the epidemic, the boy was not in the studio for a long time, and when he appeared, he wept bitterly and said that he could no longer be a student of the great signor Stradivari: his parents had died and now he himself had to earn his living ...

Stradivari took pity on the boy and took him to his house, and a few years later adopted him altogether. Having become a father again, Antonio suddenly felt the taste for life again. With redoubled zeal, he began to study the violin, feeling a keen desire to create something extraordinary, and not copies, even excellent ones, of his teacher's violins.

These dreams were not destined to come true soon: only at the age of 60, when most people are already leaving for a well-deserved rest, Antonio developed new model violin, which brought him immortal fame.

Since that time, Stradivari began the "golden period": he created the best concert quality instruments and received the nickname "super-Stradivari". So far no one has reproduced the flying unearthly sound of his creations ...

The violins he created sounded so unusual that it immediately gave rise to many rumors: it was rumored that the old man had sold his soul to the devil! After all a common person, even if he has golden hands, cannot make a piece of wood make sounds like the singing of angels.

Some people have seriously claimed that the wood from which some of the most famous violins are made is the wreckage of Noah's Ark.

Modern scientists are simply stating a fact: the master managed to give his violins, violas and cellos a richer timbre, a higher tone than that of the same Amati, and also to amplify the sound.

Together with the fame that scattered far beyond the borders of Italy, Antonio found and new love. He married - and again happily - the widow Maria Zambelli. Maria bore him five children, two of whom - Francesco and Omobone - also became violin makers, but they could not only surpass their father, but also repeat.

Not much information has been preserved about the life of the great master, because at first he was of little interest to chroniclers - Stradivari did not stand out among other Cremonese masters. And yes, he was a reserved person.

Only later, when he became famous as a "super-Stradivari", his life began to acquire legends. But it is known for sure: the genius was an incredible workaholic. He made instruments until his death at 93.

It is believed that in total Antonio Stradivari created about 1100 instruments, including violins. The maestro was amazingly productive: he produced 25 violins a year.
For comparison: a modern, actively working craftsman who makes violins by hand produces only 3-4 instruments annually. But only 630 or 650 instruments of the great master have survived to this day, exact number unknown. Most of them are violins.

Wonder Options

Modern violins are created using the most advanced technologies and achievements of physics - but the sound is still not the same! For three hundred years there have been disputes about the mysterious "secret of Stradivari", and each time scientists put forward more and more fantastic versions.

According to one theory, Stradivari's know-how is that he possessed a certain magical secret of violin varnish, which gave his products a special sound. It was said that the master learned this secret in one of the pharmacies and improved the recipe by adding insect wings and dust from the floor of his own workshop to the varnish.

Another legend says that the Cremonese master prepared his mixtures from the resins of trees that grew in those days in the Tyrolean forests and were soon completely cut down. However, scientists have found that the varnish used by Stradivari was no different from what was used in that era by furniture makers.

Many violins were generally re-lacquered during restoration in the 19th century. There was even a madman who decided on a sacrilegious experiment - to completely wash off the varnish from one of the Stradivari violins. And what? The violin didn't sound worse.
Some scholars suggest that Stradivarius used high mountain fir trees that grew in unusually cold weather. The wood had an increased density, which, according to the researchers, gave a distinctive sound to his instruments. Others believe that the secret of Stradivari is in the form of an instrument.

They say that the thing is that none of the masters put so much work and soul into their work as Stradivari. An aura of mystery gives the products of the Cremonese master an additional charm.

But pragmatic scientists do not believe in the illusions of lyricists and have long dreamed of dividing the magic of enchanting violin sounds into physical parameters. In any case, there is definitely no shortage of enthusiasts. We can only wait for the moment when physicists reach the wisdom of the lyricists. Or vice versa…

Biography

Antonio Stradivari is believed to have been born in 1644, although the exact date of his 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 1657 to 1667 he served as an unpaid student with Nicolo Amati, that is, he did rough work. Stradivari married on July 1, 1667 and settled in a fisherman's house (Casa del pescatore), where he opened his own workshop. Since that time, namely since 1667, Antonio on the labels does not call himself a student of Amati.

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, and there was also a basement and mezzanines, in addition, on the roof there was a square extension characteristic of Cremona, open on both sides - from the south and west and called the Cremonese "seccador ” (drying room), it was there that the master dried the violins after painting and often worked there in good weather. In this house, Stradivarius spent the rest of his life.

This house remained intact until 1880, but then it was bought by the owner of a neighboring restaurant and connected to the restaurant, and in the workshop of Stradivari, the owner of the restaurant, placed a billiard room.

From the memoirs of his contemporaries, the master was tall, thin, he constantly wore a white cap on his head; wool in winter and paper in summer, and a white leather apron when he worked. Thanks to work and frugality, the master made such a decent fortune that a saying appeared in Cremona: "Rich as Stradivarius."

On May 20, 1698, Stradivari's wife died, the funeral was magnificent, 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 the first and second marriages, the master had 11 children, and only two, Francesco and Omobono, were engaged in the art of their father, but were able to slightly approach the level of their father's skill.

Stradivari had only three students, these were 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 on December 10, 1737 is indicated on p. B. Dobrokhotova, 1952).

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

Stradivari made the first violin released under his own name in 1666 and until 1683 he strictly adhered to the Amati style, but from 1688 the master begins to experiment and the closer to 1690 his instruments become larger. The violins of this period received the code name "amatize". A sharp departure from the Amati school is revealed only in 1691. and their own type of violin is born. These are the so-called elongated violins (allonge) in which the maple is already exclusively radial cut and the timbre of sound from the 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 Stradivari finally designed his model of the 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 spruce is on instruments with a silky sheen, correct in layering and dense, and lower soundboards are most often from 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 .

Stradivari instruments

• List of instruments created by Antonio Stradivari

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

To date, about 650 Stradivari instruments have survived, including about 450 violins.

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

On the labels of 1736, the master marked "d ’ anni 92" on the labels of 1737 marked "d ’ anni 93" i.e. your age.

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

6. There is also a violin of 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 passed to the Moscow Conservatory, and then in 1921 to the State Collection.

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

9. Next in the collection is a 1725 cello. 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 changed.

One of these violins was restored in 1806 by the St. Petersburg craftsmen 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. There is also a violin in the State Collection in 1736, made by the master a year before his death, at the age of 92. In that year, Stradivari made only 4 violins. Prince Yusupov bought this violin in Italy and kept it in his family until 1918. The last offspring of the Sumarokov-Elston family fled to Paris, but walled up the violin in one of the cellars 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 the manufacture of bowed instruments" in 1952, edited by B. Dobrokhotov, pp. 213-222).

Also known is the collection of Stradivari 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, Swiss violinist at the court of the Spanish King Charles III, later Pablo Sarasate. Since 1908, kept in the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid.)
• Also belongs to the Spanish crown - the Spanish Quartet (Cuarteto Palatino). It originally existed as a quintet, but the tenor was subsequently lost during the years of 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), Spanish Court contralto (1696) and Spanish Court cello (1694) and are now kept in the Royal Palace of Madrid.

The Museum of Musical Instruments of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia has the so-called Tuscan violin, also part of the Medici quintet.

Violins and cellos by name with a short history:

• "Delfino" (1714) - "Dolphin". Belonged to Jasha Heifetz. Owned by the Nippon Music Foundation since 2000.
• Stradivari inlaid violin "Le Lever du Soleil" ("Sunrise") (1677) - "Sunrise", since 2004 is in the Museum of Historical Rarities Vienna.
• "Marquis de Corberon, Loeb" (1726). Belonged to French ambassador at the court of Catherine II to the Marquis de Corberon. Currently owned by the Royal Academy of Music in London (Royal Academy of Music).
• "Viotti" (1709). 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 Music Museum of Paris (Cité de la Musique, Musée de la Musique).
• "Davidoff" (1708). Belonged to the Russian cellist Karl Davydov (1838-1889). Located in the Museum of Music of Paris (Cité de la Musique, Musée de la Musique).
• "Messiah" (1716) - "Messiah". Since 1939, it has been kept in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (the Ashmolean Museum).
• "Mendelssohn" (1709). Stolen from Deutsche Bank during the occupation of Berlin.
• "Sleeping Beauty" (1704) - "Sleeping Beauty". It has been owned by the Landeskreditbank Baden Württemburg since 1995 and is owned by the violinist Isabelle Faust.
• "Betts" (1704). In the years 1830-1852 belonged to Arthur Betts. Since 1936 it has been kept in the US Library of Congress.
• "Earl of Plymouth, Kreisler" (1711). Belonged to Earl of Plymouth, Austrian violinist Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962). It has been owned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1965.
• "Le Brun" (1712). Belonged to Nicolo Paganini, Charles Le Brun (Paris). Sold at auction in 2008.
• "Eldina Bligh" (1712). Until 1912 belonged to Eldina Bly. Owned by Virgil C. Brink since 1945.
• "Pingrille" (1713). Since 1979, it has been owned by violinist Gabriel Banat, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic.
• "Lipinski" (1715). Belonged to Giuseppe Tartini, Polish violinist Karol Josef Lipinski (1790-1861). Sold in 2007.
• "David Hochstein, Nowell, Joachim" (1715). Belonged to the Hungarian violinist Josef Joachim (1831-1907). Owned by William Palmer since 1997.
• "Emperor" (1715) - "Emperor". 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). Owned by David L. Fulton since 1992.
• "Milstein" (1716). It belonged to the American violinist of Ukrainian origin Nathan Milstein (1903-1992). Owned by Jerry Cole since 2006.
• "Cessole" (1716). Belonged to close friend Nicolo Paganini to Count Chessole of 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, (aged 31). This violin was also owned by the famous Parisian master Jean Baptist Vuillaume, collectors - Richard Bennet, Baron Knoop, Sam Bloomfield, as well as music fund Nippon. Sold in June 2012 at auction auction house Tarisio for the price - $15,890,000.
• "King Maximilian, Unico" (1709). Belonged to the Bavarian king Maximilian Joseph in 1806-1826. Has been in the Axel Springer Foundation since 1966, stolen.
• "Leonora Jackson" (1714). In the years 1904-1919 belonged to the violinist Leonora Jackson McKim. Since 1984, owned by Dr. William & Professor Judy Sloan.
• "Cremonese" (1715) - "Cremonese". Since 1961 belongs to the city of Cremona.
• "Colossus" (1716) - "Colossus". Belonged to Viotti, violinist Luigi Alberto Bianchi, stolen in 1998.
• "Nachez" (1716). Belonged to the violinist Tivador Nashez. Sold in 2003.
• "Eck" (1717). Belonged to to a German violinist Franz Eck (1774-1804). Sold in 1992.
• "Hausmann" (1724). 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 Montana copper tycoon, senator, banker 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 Stradivari in 1727 and was played by Paganini after he purchased it from Count Cozio de Salabue in 1817. The second violin "Desaint" was made by Stradivari in 1680 in the "amatisé" style.

Viola, "Mendelssohn", was made in 1731, Stradivarius at 86 years old. This is one of the few surviving Strad altos (another more short title Stradivari 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 also used contemporary musicians. Cello "Davidoff" (1708), currently played by Yo-Yo Ma. Cello "Duport" (1711) belonged to the French cellist Jean Pierre Duport (1741-1818), but from 1974-2007 was in the possession of Mstislav Rostropovich. Violin "Comtesse de Polignac" "Comtesse de Polignac" (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). Belonged to Amedey Soil - the Belgian consul in Moscow in the period 1874-1911. Since 1986, in the possession of violinist Itzhak Perlman.