Violin Teachers...

G.B. ViottGreat violin playing starts not only with a great instrument and composition but with a great violin teacher! And a great violin teacher studies with an earlier great teacher. Here is a list of the "best":

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Battista_Viotti

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Joachim

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bohm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Rode

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Auer

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien_Capet

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Galamian

These names represent a link from the past to the present. Phyllis Skoldberg studied with Galamian at Julliard and, after an active and successful performance career, taught at ASU/MCC in Arizona. I had the great fortune of becoming her student in 2002-2003. Her wiki should be written and added to this distinguished list!

Italian scrolls and other carved art works..

A perfectly carved Italian violin scroll is an impressive sight, to be sure. Antonio Stradivarius is rightly acclaimed for his achievements!

But consider the much earlier work of Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, known in the art world as "Donatello" (1386-1466). He accomplished perfection in marble:

Donatello's  "St George"

bronze:

 Donatello's "David", symbol of Florence.

and especially  polychromed wood:

Donatello's "Mary  Magdalene"

Visit the Florence, Italy,  museum Palazzo del Bargello for these most impressive works! Donatello's patron was Cosimo di Medici and I am sure he would have asked his artist for a few violins if they had been introduced to Italy 100 years earlier!

Background..

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargello
www.museumsofflorence.com/museum_of_Bargello.html

More violin history will follow...

Gaspard da Salo

Gaspard da Salo, Brecia, , lived and worked from 1555-1610. His early instruments were said to be "violas" and "tenors", not always of four strings. Violins came later! Maple/sycamore was used as well as pear wood for the backs.  Heron-Allen tells of a light-brown amber varnish preference.Labels are not dated making instrument histories less definite!

This maker was selected at Violins of Plymouth to be a primary candidate for a viola reproduction. Amber-gold was chosen for the varnish.

This instrument is a fine viola with  satisfying, mello voice! Pegs are inlaid with MOP. F-holes are characteristic of da Salo. As with Maggini, the book on Brecian makers was closed in the mid 17th century with the onset of the plague! A resumption of luthier product and art will occur in Cremona.

G. P. Maggini Violins..

Time to discuss an early luthier from northern Italy- Gio Paolo Maggini, 1590-1640. He lived and worked in Brecia and produced fine instruments with double purfling. Northern Italy from Lombardy to the Veneto was a area of innovation , great design, and energy. Early makers specialized in viols but a few, such as Maggini and Gaspar da Salo, worked on violas and violins.

Venice was nearby offering materials such as maple, spruce, resins for varnishes, and capable tools. A long tradition of workmanship was in place and increasing prosperity meant a market for stringed instruments.

At Violins of Plymouth, a Maggini reproduction was among the first projects! This violin speaks with a strong clear voice. It compares favorably with reproductions of later instruments.

The Brecia instrument activity (and G.P.) did not survive the arrival of the bubonic plague; later activity was restarted in Cremona.

Birthday for an old Guarnerius copy!

Andreas Guarnerius  reproduction

Old violin with damage at end pin!

A. Guarrnerius violin -Labeled 1713

Yes, sometimes an old violin gets a birthday- especially if it is 300 years old. My old Andreas Guarnerius violin  (a copy, from Saxony or Prague) is nearing 300 years in age. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/andrea_guarnerius It is now 299 years and it sounds great but was dropped and sustained damage near the end pin. My quest is to repair this damage and I have spent 10 years, to date, making violin reproductions. As you might guess, it is easier to fabricate from scratch than to do an expert repair.

Playing-in the J. Steiner violin...

Reproduction of Jacob Steiner violin

The Jacob Steiner violin was fitted up and the strings have been tuned for two days. Time for testing!  This instrument was taken to meet my quintet friends and passed around.It received several favorable comments but additional tuners are needed to keep in tune. The bridge was tilted slightly to the G side, a condition easily addressed this morning. Nut height may be excessive.

Secrets of Violin Making- Lesson 1

"White violins" are carved from spruce and maple. That is my answer when people ask me how I make a violin. But what does that answer mean?

Wikis can help..     First,      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/steel     explains how steel evolved.

Next,       en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wood_carving       reviews 1,000 years of wood carving in western Europe.

Finally, a violin wiki     en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_violin

shows historically significant instruments.

So the secret is that I carve wood with sharp steel!


First, spruce quarter-sawn wedges are joined.

Then, the mold is selected to fabricate a specific reproduction, around which the maple sides are carefully bent. 

 Then the top and bottom plates are carved!

These  photos shows a back plate in progress. Gouges, files, and plane were used first and scrapers are shown.

Lots of exacting work to achieve great acoustic properties.  More details will follow.....stay tuned.