Bow & Bridge Violin and bow makers, as the old books printed them

Books › Grove's dictionary of music and musicians;, 1904 › scan 118

Scan 118

Grove's dictionary of music and musicians;, 1904

18 lines. Read by computer on 10 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 110. See the scan on archive.org.

1on the 'Viola Alta,' an instrument which he claimed to be his own invention. While studying history and art at the Heidelberg University, Herr Ritter became deeply interested in the history of musical instruments, and the desire to improve the muffled tone of the ordinary viola induced him to attempt the construction of a similar instrument which should possess the acute resonant qualities of the violin. According to his own account, this consummation was effected by the aid of the rules laid down by Antonio Bagatella in his pamphlet entitled Regole per la costruzione di Violini, Viole, Violoncelli, e Violoni, etc. etc., Padua, 1786, of which a second edition appeared in Padua in 1883, and German translations at Padua in 1786 and Leipzig in 1806. In point of fact Hermann Ritter's 'Viola Alta' was in reality a revival of the large 'Tenor Viol,' that direct descendant of those instruments de remplissage the Quinte and Haute Contre, which he methodised into a tenor of extra large proportions constructed on the scientific acoustical basis appertaining to the violin. His public appearances with the instrument began in 1876. They attracted the consideration of many eminent composers, and Wagner, who was at that time occupied with his 'Nibelungen,' invited his aid for the production of that opera in the same year. After completing this engagement Herr Ritter travelled for several years, touring in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Russia, England, and Scotland, and in 1879 he was appointed professor of musical history and aesthetics, as well as of the viola, at the Royal School of music at Würzburg. There his talents and personal influence were the means of attracting a vast number of students, who assisted in spreading the fame of his invention, and in 1889 five of his pupils were playing in the orchestra of the Bayreuth festival. In 1889 he was learnedly advocating the use of a three-footed binder in a pamphlet entitled Der Dreifüssige oder Normal-Geigensteg (Würzburg, G. Hartz).
3The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg appointed Herr Ritter his 'Court Chamber Virtuoso,' and the Emperor Ludwig II. of Bavaria gave him the title of 'Court Professor.' He married the singer Justine Haecker in 1884. He wrote and arranged an immense amount of music for his 'Viola Alta' and traced its history in his book entitled Die Geschichte des Viola Alta (Leipzig, Merseburg). (See Viola.) G. Adema, Hermann Ritter und seine Viola alta (Würzburg, 1881, 2nd edition, 1890); Hermann Ritter, Die Viola alta oder Altgeige (Leipzig, 1885), 1st edition, Heidelberg, 1876, 2nd edition, Leipzig, 1877. (Riemann, Dict. of Music.) E. H-A.
5RITTER (properly Bennet), Theodore, born near Paris, April 5, 1841, was a pupil of Liszt and wrote a number of successful drawing-room pieces ('Chant du braconnier,' 'Sylphes,' etc.). He produced two operas ('Marianne,' at Paris in 1861, and 'La dea risorta,' at Florence, 1865); he died in Paris, April 6, 1886.
7RIVARDE, Serge Achille, violinist, was born on Oct. 31, 1865, in New York of an American mother, his father being a Spaniard. He lived in America till the age of eleven, receiving lessons successively from Felix Simon, Henri Wieniawski and Joseph White (a man of colour). Coming to Europe he entered the Paris Conservatoire, to become a pupil of Charles Dancla. He won a first prize in July 1879, sharing the same with Franz Ondriczek. In 1881 he returned to America, where he stayed three years, and then gave up violin-playing entirely for a time. In 1885 he came back to Paris and entered Lamoureux's orchestra, in which he remained for five years as principal violin, and occasional soloist. He gave up the appointment in 1891 and made his début in London in 1894. In 1899 he took the post of violin professor at the Royal College of Music. He is occasionally heard as soloist in London and abroad, being the possessor of an exceptionally pure style, but spends most of his time in teaching. Until recently he played almost exclusively upon violins made by a modern maker, Szepessy Bela, but recently has taken to a Nicolas Lupot. one of two readings
8RIVARDE, Serge Achille, violinist, was born on Oct. 31, 1865, in New York of an American mother, his father being a Spaniard. He lived in America till the age of eleven, receiving lessons successively from Felix Simon, Henri Wieniawski and Joseph White (a man of colour). Coming to Europe he entered the Paris Conservatoire, to become a pupil of Charles Dancla. He won a first prize in July 1879, sharing the same with Franz Ondricek. In 1881 he returned to America, where he stayed three years, and then gave up violin-playing entirely for a time. In 1885 he came back to Paris and entered Lamoureux's orchestra, in which he remained for five years as principal violin, and occasional soloist. He gave up the appointment in 1891 and made his début in London in 1894. In 1899 he took the post of violin professor at the Royal College of Music. He is occasionally heard as soloist in London and abroad, being the possessor of an exceptionally pure style, but spends most of his time in teaching. Until recently he played almost exclusively upon violins made by a modern maker, Szepessy Bela, but recently has taken to a Nicolas Lupot. one of two readings
10W. W. C. one of two readings
12RIVISTA MUSICALE ITALIANA, an important quarterly review on music, published by the firm of Bocca in Turin, and edited by L. Torchi. Each quarterly 'fascicolo' contains about 200 pages in Italian or French, the articles headed 'Memorie' dealing frequently with points of musical archaeology, while 'Arte contemporanea' is the heading of those which treat of current events or the criticism of new music. Operas and other works of importance are discussed in detail, there are illustrations, musical and otherwise, and shorter reviews of musical books appear under the title of 'Recensioni.' A useful feature is a list of articles on music which appear in other periodicals. Among the Italian contributors to the first volume may be mentioned Signori Chilesotti, Giani, de Piccolellis, Tacchinardi, Tebaldini, and Valdrighi; while the names of some of the most eminent writers of other countries, such as Guido Adler, F. Draeseke, F. A. Gevaert, Adolphe Jullien, Arthur Pougin, Saint-Saëns, Philipp Spitta, and J. Weckerlin, appear in the list of contributors. The publication began in 1894, and has maintained a high standard of excellence ever since.
14(no line here) one of two readings
15M. one of two readings
17RIZZIO, David (Rizzi, or Ricci), the son of a professional musician and dancing-master, born at Turin, in Italy, in the early years of the 16th century. He obtained a post at the court of the Duke of Savoy, and came over to Scotland in the train of the ambassador in 1561. With his brother Joseph he remained in the service of Queen Mary, in the first instance as a bass singer, receiving £80 per year.

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