All Historical articles – Page 23
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FocusIn focus: an 1868 Amati copy by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume
David Bonsey examines a study in unsurpassed elegance and technical mastery from the most successful maker and dealer of the 19th century [click ‘+’ to zoom]
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FocusWhat is the secret behind Stradivari’s red violins?
Varnish maker Joe Robson explores the mystery of the special deep red varnish colour that makes Antonio Stradivari’s later instruments so attractive
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FocusIn focus: a 1895 violin by Eugenio Degani
A very fine and representative example from the most accomplished period of the grandfather of the modern Venetian school. Article by Roland Baumgartner, photos by Gertrud M. Reuter
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FocusIn focus: Pablo Casals' 1733 Goffriller cello
The cello on which Pablo Casals made his landmark recordings was for a long time believed to be by Bergonzi, writes Philip Kass
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GalleryIn focus: the 1744 'de Bériot' Guarneri 'del Gesù'
In this article from July 2015, David Rattray takes a look at a highly refined instrument that kicks against the constraints of conformity
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FocusIn focus: the 1686 'Helvetica' Stradivari
In this article from the December 2015 issue, David Bonsey takes a look at a violin from early in its maker’s career, but already a few steps along a crucial design evolution
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VideoExperimental 1872 cello played by Raphaël Pidoux
In this video from the Musée de la musique at the Philharmonie de Paris, Raphaël Pidoux plays an experimental cello made by luthier Thomas Zach in 1872. The piece is the Humoreske op.11 no.2 by David Popper, the cellist who showcased this very instrument at the Vienna World’s Fair in ...
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FocusIn focus: cello by Giovanni Grancino, 1693
In this article from the January 2006 issue of The Strad, Ed Keohane studies a cello which had just been sold at Sotheby’s for nearly £210,000. Photographs by Richard Valencia
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FocusThe Strad poster: the 1741 ‘Vieuxtemps’ Guarneri
Additional measurements including weights and densities of the top and back plates
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FocusIn focus: The ‘Carrodus’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’
In this article from the April 2007 issue, John Dilworth takes a close look at a violin made when ‘del Gesù’ was at his most imaginative and creative
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NewsNew record set for G.B. Guadagnini at London auction
The ‘Sinzheimer’ violin pushes past $2m mark in Tarisio auction, breaking previous record for maker set in 2016
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GalleryIn focus: violin by G.B. Rogeri
In this article from the October 2009 issue, Philip Kass untangles Rogeri, Rugeri and the last Amati in taking a closer look at a late 17th-century violin by the first
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FocusMaxim Vengerov: Me and my Strads
In conversation with Sota Nakazawa, Russian virtuoso Maxim Vengerov explains his love for Stradivari instruments, and his long relationship with them
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VideoRolf Lislevand plays a Stradivarius guitar
Norwegian early music specialist Rolf Lislevand plays the 1679 ‘Sabionari’ Stradivari, the only guitar by the maker which is currently playable. The piece is a Tarantela by Spanish Baroque composer Santiago de Murcia. Read: The ‘Sabionari’ Stradivarius guitar, 1679 [gallery]
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GalleryThe ‘Sabionari’ Stradivarius guitar, 1679
Of the five or six Stradivari guitars still extant, it is also, thanks to a recent restoration, the only one that is currently playable. Violinmaker Gregg Alf takes a closer look[click + to zoom]
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FocusFrom the archive: Violin by Santo Serafin c.1740
In the January 2013 issue, John Dilworth examined this fine example of the great Venetian craftsman’s work [click + to zoom in]
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VideoClarissa Bevilacqua plays Bach on the 1669 'Clisbee' Stradivarius
Seventeen-year-old violinist Clarissa Bevilacqua performs the Andante from Bach’s Sonata no.2 on the 1669 ‘Clisbee’ Stradivari from the collection of the Museo del Violino, Cremona. Clarissa Bevilaqua’s biography: She started playing the violin at age five, and debuted at the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago in front of ten thousand people ...
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FocusFrom the archive: a 1717 Brescian cello by Pietro Giacomo Rogeri
Marked forever by Paganini and nearly lost in the snow by Piatti, this 1717 cello by Pietro Giacomo Rogeri has had a colourful history. Article by John Dilworth from the July 2009 issue
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NewsGallery: X-raying a Strad case
Dimitri Musafia shares what is likely the first X-ray of a case from the Stradivari workshop
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VideoRob Landes tries out a titanium violin
In this video, violinist Rob Landes experiments with a violin made out of sheet titanium. Its maker described some of the challenges invoveld in its construction: ‘The number one problem when working with titanium is it reacts with the oxygen in air anytime it is over 800 degrees F. The ...
