Books › the history of the violin, 1864 › scan 193
Scan 193
the history of the violin, 1864
2 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 171. See the scan on archive.org.
1went to Prague, and afterwards, in 1714, to London. He had two fine Jacob Steiner violins, which he called St. Peter and St. Paul, and affirmed that they surpassed all the best instruments of Italy. He was shipwrecked on his way to France, and thus lost these treasures. Haranc, born at Paris 1738, was a great player; it is said that he began the instrument at the age of three, and at six could play the most difficult music at sight. Benda, born in Bohemia 1709, is considered the founder of a violin school in Germany. A violin player called Bohdanswicz, is mentioned in the latter part of this century, who had eight children all musical, and he seems to have endeavoured to attract audiences by numerous strange contrivances; for instance, at Vienna he advertised for a concert a sonata for one violin, to be performed by three persons with twelve fingers and three bows; and an andantino, to be played by his four daughters on one pianoforte, with eight hands and forty fingers. Scheller, about the same time, first produced the performance on the four strings together, unscrewing the bow for the purpose. Rolla, born at Paris in 1757, and who died at Milan as recently as 1837, was a distinguished player and a fine composer for the instrument; he was also one of the finest tenor players in the world, but it is said that his performance so affected the nerves of females that he was forbidden to play this instrument in public: this seems a strange restriction. A performer called Leprince certainly turned his talents to better account, for on his passage from Holland to Petersburgh, having been taken prisoner by an English privateer, he played so cheerfully to the sailors that they gave him his liberty, and restored all his property. Diana, born at Cremona about 1770, was a great player, and applied to Rolla to give him instructions, which he declined, say-
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