All Historical articles – Page 14
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Premium ❘ FeatureGut strings: A strong stomach for strings
As gut becomes increasingly popular among players, Jenny Nex uncovers documents revealing the pioneers of the string making trade of 18th-century London, and the secrets behind the messy job of processing intestines. From February 2011
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Premium ❘ ArticleAuction Report: September 2021
The June auctions in the UK capital brought together a number of interesting bows and instruments, with signs that the market is on the up and up, writes Kevin MacDonald
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Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A 1911 violin by Anatoly Leman
Yuri Pochekin details an instrument by one of the most important figures in Russian violin making history
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ReviewBook review: Feine und bedeutende Streichinstrumente
Benjamin Hebbert reviews an anthology of instruments by German violin dealer Rudolf Eckstein, witht text in German and English
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Premium ❘ FeatureMarkneukirchen: The rise and fall of Germany’s first violin factory
A small German town was the setting for an early experiment in violin mass-production. But outside economic forces threatened it from the very start. Arian Sheets traces its history, in this article from the April 2011 issue of The Strad
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking its mark: How violin making began in Markneukirchen, Germany
From a formative guild of emigrés to world-conquering mass production, few places have as colourful a lutherie story to tell as Markneukirchen. Enrico Weller and William Wisehart assess the history and distinctive character of violin making in this corner of southern Saxony
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ReviewBook review: Monograph of the Antonio Stradivari Cello c.1690 ‘Barjansky’
Florian Leonhard reviews an extensive study of the famous cello, including dendrochronology, CT scans and posters
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Premium ❘ FeatureHerrmann bow making dynasty: An enduring legacy
Like their close contemporaries the Knopfs, the Herrmann family of bow makers left behind a large number of bows, many of which show exquisite craftsmanship. In the second of two articles, Gennady Filimonov examines their history, their connections with the Knopfs, and several examples of their work
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Premium ❘ FeatureNeck setting: Adjustment to change
The method of connecting an instrument’s neck to its body has undergone seismic changes since the Baroque era. Joseph Curtin analyses the ancient and modern procedures, and examines the benefits offered by fixing an adjustable neck
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Premium ❘ FeatureBaroque instruments: Period of Adjustment
Although the basic violin set-up has changed little from Baroque times, many of its parts have altered radically. In the second of two articles, from March 2013, Roger Hargrave tracks the development of strings, fingerboards and the neck root
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Premium ❘ FeatureBaroque Instruments: Evolutionary Road
In the first of a two-part article from February 2013, Roger Hargrave traces the development of the violin from the Baroque era to modern times – and refutes some long-held beliefs in the process
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GalleryPhoto gallery: the decorated instruments of Leonardo Frigo
The Italian artist’s exhibition ‘Infernus’ runs at Vicenza’s Basilica Palladiana until 31 August
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NewsNew study reveals the wood treatments used by Stradivari, Amati and Guarneri
The report reveals how the luthiers changed the molecular structure of the spruce used for instrument tops
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Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: An 1865 violin by Samuel Nemessányi
Zoltán Délczeg details an instrument by a maker considered to be the most famous in Hungarian history
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ArticleA family tree of Italian violin makers
This illustrated representation of violin making in Italy first appeared in The Strad’s August 1891 issue
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NewsSheku Kanneh-Mason loaned 1700 Gofriller cello
The instrument ‘presents a kaleidoscope of tonal qualities’ and ’has an uncanny capacity to respond’ according to the cellist
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Premium ❘ FeatureKnopf dynasty: A tangled web
Three bow makers of the Knopf family are well known: Christian Wilhelm, Heinrich and Henry. But the dynasty comprises more than a dozen members, many of whom deserve recognition. Gennady Filimonov draws on archive material supplied by the Knopf descendants
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Premium ❘ FeatureVincenzo Postiglione: Fair copies
Vincenzo Postiglione was one of Naples’ leading instrument makers in the late 19th century, and his work is well represented in its Conservatory of Music. Luigi Sisto examines two copies of instruments by Mariani and Gofriller, to find what they reveal about his making style
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NewsViolin found in attic identified as Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’
Dendrochronology study confirmed the date of the wood on the basis of a WhatsApp photo
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Focus‘Is $16 million for a violin too much to pay? Not these days’
In the 1998 movie The Red Violin, a great violin maker named Nicolo Bussotti, based on the real-life luthier Antonio Stradivari, supposedly mixes the blood of his deceased beloved wife into the varnish of what is to be his most precious creation. The violin’s journey, from its creation in Cremona ...
