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Scan 576
Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1928
12 lines. Read by computer on 12 September 2026. Printed page 518. See the scan on archive.org.
1THE CREMONA MAKERS.1—Cremona's undying fame as the classical town of violin-makers, began with the Amati dynasty. The first of this famous family was Andrea Amati (c. 1520—c. 1580) whose work was closely related to that of the early Brescians. The achievements of Andrea and his sons Antonio and Girolamo are fully described under their own names. This extraordinary family reached the height of its artistic achievements in Nicolo (1596—1684), the son of Girolamo, who not only inherited his father's genius, but started out to construct a new model of his own, and after many attempts succeeded in producing those wonderful violins known as the 'Grand Amatis,' in which he was surpassed only by his pupil Antonio STRADIVARI (q.v.), that greatest of all violin-makers. His greatest and most original pupils were Carlo Bergonzi and Domenico Montagnana, who afterwards settled at Venice; other pupils of distinction were (1) Alessandro Gagliano, who went to Naples, where his son Niccolo worked after him but on original lines, and was followed by his son Ferdinando; (2) Lorenzo Guadagnini, and his son Giovanni Battista, who settled at Piacenza; (3) his sons Francesco and Omobono. Francesco Gobetti, Venice (1690—1715) is also considered to have been a pupil of Stradivari. Among the pupils of Niccolo Amati was also his son Girolamo, the last violin-maker of that famous family; Paolo Grancino of Milan, more important than the former but surpassed by his son Giovanni; Andrea Guarneri, like Andreas Amati, the first of a great family of violin-makers, and an excellent master who was, however, surpassed by his sons Giuseppe Giovan Battista and Pietro Giovanni, both makers of distinct individuality. Pietro Guarneri, son of Giuseppe filius Andreæ, was also an excellent maker, but the greatest of the family was Giuseppe Antonio, better known as Giuseppe del Gesù, who shares the palm with Stradivari, whose instruments he surpasses in power and brilliance of tone in his latter period. Stradivari's violins, however, are sweeter, more intimate and poetical. Among the distinguished pupils of Niccolo Amati were also Giovanni Battista and Pietro Giacomo Rogeri of Brescia—the latter specially noted for his violoncellos,—and Paolo Albani of Palermo is also mentioned among the pupils of Nicolo. The Ruggieri family of Cremona, not to be confounded with Rogeri, produced several eminent violin-makers; foremost among them was Francesco Ruggieri (also Ruger) detto il Per, who was also a pupil of Niccolo Amati. Greatly valued is also the work of Giacinto R. detto il Per, Vincenzo—and lastly Gambattista R. detto il Per. The Testore family of Milan, consisting of Carlo Giuseppe (c. 1690—1720), Carlo Antonio (1730—64), his son Giovanni and his brother Paolo Antonio were excellent makers, and so were several members of the Tononi family of Bologna.
3ENGLISH MAKERS.—Jacob Rayman, who probably came from the Tyrol and settled in London about 1620, may be looked on as the father of violin-making in England. Thomas Urquhart, Edward Pemberton and Christopher Wise belong to the mid-17th century. Edward Pamphilon worked in London from c. 1680. Daniel Parker made good instruments (c. 1700—30), still obtainable at a moderate price. Barak Norman (1688—1740) was essentially viol-maker, but made also violins and especially violoncellos of excellent workmanship. Nathaniel Cross (1700—50), worked for many years together with Barak Norman. Daniel Parker, John Barrett, early Stradivari copyists, John Hare and Peter Wamsley were excellent makers of the early 18th century.
5Benjamin Banks of Salisbury (1727—95), was the greatest English violin-maker; his sons Benjamin, James and Henry were of average merit. Edmund Aireton, Edward Betts, Richard Duke, Thomas Dodd (instruments bearing his name were made by John Lott and Bernard Fendt, but covered with very fine varnish by him), John Dickeson, William Forster and his son William, John, and his son Henry John Furber, Samuel Gilkes, Charles Harris, Thomas Smith, Richard Tobin, were excellent makers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
7The longest line of violin-makers is that of the Hill family, of whom Joseph Hill, a pupil of Wamsley, William (c. 1741), and Lockey (1800—40), were makers of note. William Ebsworth Hill, son of Lockey, and his sons, now living, are chiefly noted as repairers and dealers. John Thomas Hart (1805—74), a pupil of Gilkes, and his descendants were and are chiefly repairers and dealers. The Kennedy family: Alexander (1700—86), John (1730—1816), Thomas (1784—c. 1870), and George Crash of Manchester were prolific makers of good second-class instruments. Frederic, Joseph and George A. Chanot followed in the footsteps of their father. The latter settled in Manchester. Alfred Chanot, the son of Frederic, is also a maker and repairer now living in London.
9FRENCH MAKERS.—Like the rest of the various European countries the French violin-makers were but copyists of the Italians. Those of outstanding merit were Nicolas Lupot (1758—1824), unrivalled in his copies of Stradivari, and J. B. Vuillaume (1798—1875), a most prolific maker of eminently clever copies of Cremonese masters. The nearest approach to the work of these two masters was that of Pierre Silvestre (1801—59), a pupil of Lupot and, like his master, a copyist of Stradivari. His brother Hippolyte, for some time his
111 See the articles under the names of principal makers for details of their individual styles.
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