Antonio Stradivari
Antonio Stradivari (1644 – December 18, 1737) was an Italian luthier (maker of violins and other stringed instruments), the most prominent member of that profession. The Latin form of his surname, "Stradivarius" - sometimes shortened to "Strad" - is often used to refer to his instruments.
Biography
Antonio Stradivari was born in the year 1644[1] but his exact birth place is not documented, apart from the fact that he was born in Italy to Alessandro Stradivari and Anna Moroni. It is possible that in the years 1667 through 1679 he served as a pupil in Niccolò Amati's workshop, though there is much evidence to dispute this fact.
In 1680 Stradivari set up for himself in the Piazza San Domenico, Cremona, and his fame as an instrument-maker was soon established. He began to show his originality, and to make alterations in Amati's model. The arching was changed, the various degrees of thickness in the wood were more exactly determined, the formation of the scroll altered, and the varnish more highly coloured. His instruments are recognized by their inscription in Latin: Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno [date] (Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, made in the year ...). It is generally acknowledged that his finest instruments were manufactured from 1698 to 1725 (peaking around 1715), exceeding in quality those manufactured between 1725 and 1730. After 1730, some of the instruments are signed Sotto la Desciplina d'Antonio Stradivari F. in Cremona [date], and were probably made by his sons, Omobono and Francesco.
Apart from violins, Stradivari also made guitars, violas, cellos, and at least one harp — more than 1,100 instruments in all, by current estimate. About 650 of these instruments survive today.
Antonio Stradivari died in Cremona, Italy on December 18, 1737 and was buried in Basilica of San Domenico, in Cremona. The church was demolished in 1868, at which time Stradivari's remains were unidentifiable.
His instruments are regarded as amongst the finest stringed instruments ever created, are highly prized, and still played by professionals today. Only one other maker, Joseph Guarneri del Gesù, commands the same respect among violinists. It should be noted, however, that there are fashions in music as in other things, and the accepted supremacy of Stradivari's and del Gesù's instruments is only true today. In the past, instruments by Nicolo Amati, and Jacob Stainer, were preferred for their subtle sweetness of tone.
On May 16, 2006, Christie's auctioned a Stradivarius called "The Hammer" for a record US$3,544,000. It is the most paid at public auction for any musical instrument [1]. It was purchased by an anonymous telephone bidder. The previous record price paid at a public auction for a Stradivarius was US$2,032,000 for the "Lady Tennant" at Christie's in New York, April 2005 [2]. Private sales are often more accurate examples.
Other famous Stradivarius instruments are the Davidov Strad, a cello currently owned and played by Yo-Yo Ma, and the Duport Strad cello owned by Mstislav Rostropovich. The Soil Strad of 1714 is owned by virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, and many consider it among the finest of all Stradivaris. The “Countess Polignac” is currently played by Gil Shaham. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra uses several Stradivarius instruments that were purchased by the OeNB (Austrian National Bank) and other sponsors: "Chaconne", 1725, "ex Hämmerle", 1709, "ex Smith-Quersin", 1714, "ex-Arnold Rose, ex Viotti", 1718 and "ex Halphen", 1727.
The usual label for a Stradivarius instrument, whether genuine or false, uses the Latin inscription Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno [date]. This inscription indicates the maker (Antonio Stradivari), the town (Cremona), and "made in the year," followed by a date that is either printed or handwritten. Due to the McKinnley Tariff Act of 1891, copies made after that year may also have a country of origin printed in English at the bottom of the label, such as "Germany." After a revision of the tariff in 1914, imported copies read "made in" followed by the country of origin. Since thousands of instruments are based on Stradivari's models and bear the same name as his models, many unwary people are tricked into buying fake Stradivarius instruments, though this can be avoided by having an instrument authenticated.
The world's two largest publicly accessible collections of Stradivari instruments belong to the King of Spain, consisting of two violins, two cellos, and a viola, exhibited in the Music Museum at the former Royal Palace (Palacio Real) in Madrid, and the U.S Library of Congress' collection of three violins, a viola, and a cello. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra has the largest number of Stradivari in its string section, purchased in 2003 from the collection of Herbert R. Axelrod. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra uses four violins and one cello.
Stradivarius instruments
Violins
| model | year of manufacture | Owner | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aranyi Stradivarius | 1667 | ||
| ex Captain Saville Stradivarius | 1667 | Andre Rieu | |
| Amatese Stradivarius | 1668 | ||
| Oistrakh Stradivarius | 1671 | David Oistrakh | stolen 1996, still missing |
| Spanish Stradivarius | 1677 | ||
| Paganini-Desaint Stradivarius (Paganini-Quartett) | 1680 | Nippon Music Foundation [3] | on loan to Kikuei Ikeda of the Tokyo String Quartet |
| Fleming Stradivarius | 1681 | Stradivari Society [4] | on loan to Cecily Ward |
| Chanot-Chardon | 1681 | Timothy Baker [5], previously Joshua Bell | Shaped like a guitar |
| Bucher Stradivarius | 1683 | ||
| Cipriani Potter Stradivarius | 1683 | ||
| Cobbett ex Holloway Stradivarius | 1683 | ||
| ex Arma Senkrah Stradivarius | 1685 | ||
| ex Castelbarco Stradivarius | 1685 | ||
| Auer Stradivarius | 1689 | Stradivari Society | on loan to Vadim Gluzman |
| Arditi Stradivarius | 1689 | ||
| Baumgartner Stradivarius | 1689 | ||
| Bingham Stradivarius | 1690 | ||
| Bennett Stradivarius | 1692 | Winterthur-Versicherungen | on loan to Hanna Weinmeister |
| Falmouth Stradivarius | 1692 | Leonidas Kavakos | |
| Baillot-Pommerau Stradivarius | 1694 | ||
| Fetzer Stradivarius | 1695 | Stradivari Society | on loan to Ruggero Allifranchini |
| Cabriac Stradivarius | 1698 | ||
| ex Baron Knoop Stradivarius | 1698 | ||
| Lady Tennant Stradivarius | 1699 | auctioned from Christie's in New York for over 2 million US dollars | |
| Longuet Stradivarius | 1699 | ||
| Countess Polignac Stradivarius | 1699 | ||
| Castelbarco Stradivarius | 1699 | ||
| Cristiani Stradivarius | 1700 | ||
| Taft ex Emil Heermann Stradivarius | 1700 | Canada Council for the Arts | on loan to Jessica Linnebach |
| Dushkin Stradivarius | 1701 | Stradivari Society | on loan to Frank Almond |
| The Irish Stradivarius | 1702 | OKO Bank, Finnland | on loan to Réka Szilvay |
| Conte di Fontana Stradivarius, ex Oistrach | 1702 | Oistrach played that instrument for ca. 8 years since 1953. | |
| King Maximilian Joseph Stradivarius | about 1702 | Stradivari Society | on loan to Berent Korfker |
| Lyall Stradivarius | 1702 | Stradivari Society | on loan to Stefan Milenkovich |
| La Rouse Boughton Stradivarius | 1703 | Österreichische Nationalbank [6] | on loan to Boris Kuschnir of the Kopelman Quartet |
| Allegretti Stradivarius | 1703 | ||
| Alsager Stradivarius | 1703 | ||
| Emiliani Stradivarius | 1703 | Anne-Sophie Mutter | |
| Betts Stradivarius | 1704 | ||
| ex Marsick Stradivarius, also a ex Oistrach | 1705 | For this violin D.O. exchanged his "Fontana-1702" | |
| ex Brüstlein Stradivarius | 1707 | Österreichische Nationalbank | |
| La Cathédrale Stradivarius | 1707 | Stradivari Society | on loan to Tamaki Kawakubo |
| Hammer Stradivarius | 1707 | auctioned from Christie's in New York for 3.544 million US dollars (world record) | |
| Burstein Bagshawe Stradivarius | 1708 | Stradivari Society | on loan to Janice Martin |
| Huggins Stradivarius | 1708 | Nippon Music Foundation | on loan to Sergey Khachatryan [7] |
| Duc de Camposelice Stradivarius | 1708 | state of Czech republic | Formerly owned and played by Váša Príhoda, now on loan to Josef Suk |
| Ruby Stradivarius | 1708 | Stradivari Society | temporarily played by Leila Josefowicz, played by Vadim Repin |
| Berlin Hochschule Stradivarius | 1709 | ||
| Hämmerle | 1709 | Österreichische Nationalbank | Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, on loan to Werner Hink |
| Ernst Stradivarius | 1709 | played until 2003 by Zsigmondy Dénes | |
| Engleman Stradivarius | 1709 | Nippon Music Foundation | Werner Hink Lisa Batiashvili |
| Viotti ex-Bruce Stradivarius | 1709 | Royal Academy of Music, London | Aquired in 2005 by the Royal Academy for £3.5 million |
| Lord Dunn Raven Stradivarius | 1710 | Anne-Sophie Mutter | her favourite strad |
| ex Roederer Stradivarius | 1710 | played by David Grimal | |
| ex Vieuxtemps Stradivarius | 1710 | ||
| Liegnitz Stradivarius | 1711 | ||
| Boissier Stradivarius | 1713 | ||
| Gibson ex Hubermann Stradivarius | 1713 | Joshua Bell | Stolen twice before Bell's acquisition |
| Dolphin Stradivarius | 1714 | Nippon Music Foundation | Werner Hink Akiko Suwanai [8] |
| Soil Stradivarius | 1714 | Itzhak Perlman | |
| ex Berou ex Thibaud Stradivarius | 1714 | ||
| Le Maurien Stradivarius | 1714 | stolen 2002, still missing | |
| Leonora Jackson Stradivarius | 1714 | ||
| Smith-Quersin | 1714 | Österreichische Nationalbank | Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, on loan to Rainer Honeck |
| Lipinski Stradivarius | 1715 | missing since 1962 | |
| Cremonese, ex Joachim Stradivarius | 1715 | city of Cremona | |
| Titian Stradivarius | 1715 | ||
| Alard Stradivarius | 1715 | ||
| ex Bazzini Stradivarius | 1715 | ||
| Cessole Stradivarius | 1716 | ||
| Berthier Stradivarius | 1716 | ||
| Booth Stradivarius | 1716 | Nippon Music Foundation | on loan to Arabella Steinbacher, formerly played by Julia Fischer |
| Colossus Stradivarius | 1716 | stolen 1998, still missing | |
| Monasterio Stradivarius | 1716 | ||
| Provigny Stradivarius | 1716 | ||
| Messiah Stradivarius | 1716 | ||
| ex Windsor Weinstein Stradivarius | 1716 | The Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank [9] | |
| ex Wieniawski Stradivarius | 1717 | ||
| Sasserno Stradivarius | 1717 | Nippon Music Foundation | on loan to Viviane Hagner |
| Viotti Stradivarius / Rose | 1718 | Österreichische Nationalbank | Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, on loan to Volkhard Steude |
| Firebird ex Saint Exupéry Stradivarius | 1718 | Salvatore Accardo | |
| San Lorenzo Stradivarius | 1718 | Talbot Aachen | played by David Garrett |
| Madrileño Stradivarius | 1720 | ||
| ex Beckerath Stradivarius | 1720 | Private Collection, Michael Antonello | played by Michael Antonello |
| Red Mendelssohn Stradivarius | 1720 | played by Elizabeth Pitcairn | |
| Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis | 1721 | found in southern Germany in the year 2006 | |
| Artot Stradivarius | 1722 | ||
| Jupiter Stradivarius | 1722 | Nippon Music Foundation | formerly on loan to Midori Goto, now to Daishin Kashimoto |
| Laub Petschnikoff Stradivarius | 1722 | ||
| Jules Falk Stradivarius | 1722 | Viktoria Mullova | |
| Kiesewetter Stradivarius | 1723 | Stradivari Society | on loan to Stefan Jackiw |
| Le Sarastre Stradivarius | 1724 | Real Conservatorio Superior de Música, Madrid [10] | |
| Brancaccio Stradivarius | 1725 | ||
| Barrere Stradivarius | 1725 | Stradivari Society | on loan to Janine Jansen |
| Chaconne | 1725 | Österreichische Nationalbank | Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, on loan to Rainer Küchel |
| Wilhelmj Stradivarius | 1725 | Nippon Music Foundation | on loan to Baiba Skride |
| Davidoff Morini Stradivarius | 1727 | stolen 1995, still missing [11] | |
| ex General Dupont Stradivarius | 1727 | on loan to Jennifer Koh | |
| Holroyd Stradivarius | 1727 | ||
| Kreutzer Stradivarius | 1727 | Maxim Vengerov | |
| Hart ex Francescatti Stradivarius | 1727 | Salvatore Accardo | |
| Paganini Comte Cozio di Salbue Stradivarius (Paganini Quartett) | 1727 | Nippon Music Foundation | on loan to Martin Beaver of the Tokyo String Quartet |
| Halphen Violine | 1727 | Dkfm. Angelika Prokopp private foundation | Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, on loan to Eckhard Seifert |
| Benny Stradivarius | 1729 | Jack Benny | handed down to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association [12] |
| Lady Jeanne | 1731 | Donald Kahn Foundation | on loan to Benjamin Schmid [13] |
| Herkules Stradivarius | 1732 | owned by Eugène Ysaye | stolen 1908, still misssing |
| Des Rosiers Stradivarius | 1733 | ||
| Rode Stradivarius | 1733 | ||
| Ames Stradivarius | 1734 | stolen, Still missing | |
| ex Baron von Feilitzsch Stradivarius | 1734 | ||
| Habeneck Stradivarius | 1734 | Royal Academy of Music | |
| Lamoureux Stradivarius | 1735 | stolen, still missing | |
| Muntz Stradivarius | 1736 | Nippon Music Foundation | on loan to Arabella Steinbacher [14] |
| Comte d'Amaille Stradivarius | 1737 | ||
| Lord Norton Stradivarius | 1737 | ||
| Chant du Cygne - Swan Song Stradivarius | 1737 |
Violas
Thirteen Stradivarius violas are still known to exist.
| modell | year of manufacture | Owner | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archinto Stradivarius | 1667 | Royal Academy of Music | |
| Paganini Mendelssohn Stradivarius (Paganini-Quartett) | 1731 | Nippon Music Foundation | on loan to Kazuhide Isomura of the Tokyo String Quartet |
Cellos
Antonio Stradivari built between 70 and 80 Celli in his life, of which 60 still exist.
| modell | year of manufacture | Owner | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Kyd ex Leo Stern Stradivarius | 1684 | Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra | On April 27, 2004, the instrument was stolen out of the house of a cello instructor, found in a garbage container by a family in the city, and was to be converted into a CD shelf until its insured value became known. Three weeks later, it was returned. [15] |
| Barjanski Stradivarius | 1690 | played by Julian Lloyd Webber | |
| ex-Gendron | 1693 | Stifung für Kunst und Kultur des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen | Played by Maria Kliegel. Was played by Maurice Gendron from 1958 to 1985. |
| Bonjour Stradivarius | 1696 | Abel Bonjour | on loan to Kaori Yamagami |
| Lord Aylesford Stradivarius | 1696 | Nippon Music Foundation | played by Janos Starker from 1950 to 1965 |
| Castelbarco Stradivarius (Cello) | 1697 | ||
| Servais Stradivarius | 1701 | played by Anner Bylsma; a special big instrument, formerly may have been tuned one tone deeper. | |
| Paganini Countess of Stanlein Stradivarius | 1707 | Bernard Greenhouse | |
| Gore Booth Stradivarius | 1710 | ||
| Duport Stradivarius | 1711 | Mstislaw Rostropowitsch | |
| Mara | 1711 | Heinrich Schiff | |
| Davidow | 1712 | Yo-Yo Ma | named after Karl Juljewitsch Dawidow, who was called Zar der Celli from Tschaikovski; formerly owned by Jacqueline du Pré |
| Batta Stradivarius | 1714 | Gregor Piatigorsky | |
| Becker Stradivarius | 1719 | ||
| Piatti Stradivarius | 1720 | Carlos Prieto | Carlos Prieto "renamed" the Ex-Piatti as Chelo Prieto |
| Baudiot Stradivarius | 1725 | Gregor Piatigorsky | |
| Stradivarius Portugal (Model B) | 1725 | Music Museum (Lisbon) | |
| De Munck ex Feuermann Stradivarius | 1730 | Nippon Music Foundation | on loan to Steven Isserlis |
| Braga | 1731 | ||
| Paganini Ladenburg Stradivarius (Paganini-Quartett) | 1736 | Nippon Music Foundation | on loan to Clive Greensmith of the Tokyo String Quartet |
Guitars
Two complete guitars built by Stradivari still exist, as well as a few fragments.
| model | year of manufacture | Owner | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hill Stradivarius | 1680 or 1688 | ||
| Rawlins Stradivarius | 1700 | National Music Museum South Dakota [16] |
Harps
Antonio Stradivari built only one harp in his life.
Notes
- ^ Some sources give dates 1649 or 1650.
See also
- Stradivarius (includes a list of Stradivari’s instruments)
The National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States(http://www.usd.edu/smm/) has in its collection one of two known Stradivari guitars, one of 11 known viola de gambas (later modified into a cello form), one of two known Choral Mandolins, and one of six Strad violins that still retain their original neck.
- W E Hill & Sons handled a number of Stradivari's instruments and published a book in 1901, which is now available online.
External links
- Stradivari, the violin and the Golden Number.
- The Violin Site - Violin Making
- Click here to know more on Liuteria
- Nagyvary Violins A professor of biochemistry and biophysics who makes violins that are allegedly acoustically identical to those of Stradivarius.
Explanation of Little Ice Age Theory:
- http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news/2003/12_03_03.htm
- Stradivari, violins, tree rings, and the Maunder Minimum: a hypothesis
- http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f03/web3/s1kim.html
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)