Books › The "Tuscan". A short account of a violin by Stradivari, made for Cosimo de Medici, Grand duke of Tuscany, dated 1690, 1891 › scan 23
Scan 23
The "Tuscan". A short account of a violin by Stradivari, made for Cosimo de Medici, Grand duke of Tuscany, dated 1690, 1891
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 9. See the scan on archive.org.
1Violin by Stradivari.
3On the 19th September, 1690, Antonio (Stradivari) received the following letter from the Marchese Bartolommeo Ariberti.
5"A few days ago I presented the Prince of Tuscany with the two violins and the violoncello, and to my great satisfaction, he accepted them with a gratification that fulfilled all my expectations. All the members of his band were unanimous in their praise of the instruments, which they declared to be perfect, and of the violoncello in particular, they admitted that they had never heard an instrument with such a powerful and agreeable tone. I feel that for the flattering reception accorded to my present by His Highness, I am indebted principally to the great care and labour which you have bestowed upon the construction of these instruments. At the same time I think I may claim some credit with you for bringing your great skill to the notice of such a princely house, and I trust that it may procure frequent orders for you from the same quarter. In earnest of my good will I have now to beg you to begin at once the construction of two viols, viz., the tenor, and the contralto, which are wanted to complete the full concerto," &c., &c.
7Of the Concerto, made for the Court of Tuscany, only one of the violas and the violoncello remain at Florence, where they are preserved in the Royal Institute of Music. All traces of the other viola and violin have been lost; the greater part of the valuable collection, left by the Grand Duke at his death, having disappeared from the Pitti Palace. The viola that has been preserved is a very fine instrument of unusual size. It had to be opened in 1869, when the
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