Books › Dictionary of Violin makers, 1928 › scan 19
Scan 19
Dictionary of Violin makers, 1928
16 lines. Read by computer on 1 October 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Celebrated virtuosi, contemporaries of Lupot, Aldric, Gand, Vuillaume and other reputed makers whose instruments are now much sought for their beauty and qualities, since acquired, owed part of their success to the marvellous Italians on which they played the Beethoven, Mozart, and Mendelssohn concertos.
3Viotti, Kreutzer, Rode, Baillot, Allard, Dancla, Joachim, Massart, Sarasate, Vieuxtemps, Maurin, Piatti, Servais, Wilhelmy, Franchomme, Davidoff, de Loys and many others played on Stradivarius. Guarnerius del Gésu was favoured by Paganini, Allard, Sainton, etc. Theresa Milanollo played on a Carlo Bergonzi. De Beriot and Leonard were fond of their Maggini.
5Even now, with a few exceptions, known and talented violinists and 'cellists play on instruments by similar makers. Eugene Ysaye, Jacques Thibaud, Kubelik, triumph with their Stradivarius. André Hekking has a great love for his Montagnana.
7Ourselves violinists, we take the liberty of giving our own sincere opinion. The old instruments are favoured by artists, the main reason being that they derive from them personal satisfaction and a greater freedom in playing, that is to say, a more spontaneous emission of sound. Personal satisfaction? By this we mean that if a modern or recently made instrument produces an identical sensation on the listener to that produced by an old one, the player will prefer the latter, which permits him to play with less fatigue and consequently with greater pleasure.
9A new instrument may indeed be on a par with an old one when we consider the volume of sound produced in the playing of a broad musical phrase, but when we reach the high technique domain of the virtuoso, the comparison is no longer possible. The latter requires an easy emission of sounds, especially in the higher positions, which must be obtained without effort. This can only be achieved by the use of an old instrument, the quality of tone of which is also an important factor. Professor G. Demeny's appreciation on this very subject in his book entitled La Physiologie des Professions runs thus:
11« The quality of tone is an important element in the amleness of sound. Some piercing notes, seemingly intense when heard closely, do not carry very far. They contain high harmonics which produce upon the ear a hard, harsh impression without giving birth to sonorous waves of great amplitude, hence their lack of carrying propensity. »
13» Italian instruments greatly surprise us. They give no impression of strength to the player, but in an ensemble, vibrating easily under the influence of other instruments, they rise above the latter, their tone carrying a greater distance as they vibrate broadly and freely. If they know it, it is due to the makers to tell us the best model structure of instrument necessary to obtain this freedom of vibration, since old instruments cannot be replaced. Through constant vibration, their wood has been subjected to a molecular modification: it has become more elastic and more apt to be re-inforced by the fundamental sounds of the strings and not by the high harmonics which give to the new instruments their sharp and piercing tone. »
15However, we must not generalise and conclude that all old instruments are superior to modern ones so that our choice in the buying of an instrument be guided
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