Scan 63
The violin & its story : or the history & construction of the violin, 1905
6 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. Printed page 47. See the scan on archive.org.
1surpassing beauty, and the most extreme care had been exercised in its selection. It was made in 1716; the brilliance of the varnish was not dimmed; it was to all intents and purposes a new violin, and looked as though it had but just come from the master's hand; it was, in brief, the only one of Stradivarius's fiddles which had come down to Vuillaume's time under those precise circumstances. This uninjured monument of the art of the old master, which had been untouched by a bow for the best part of a century-and-a-half, disposed in the most complete manner, Vuillaume contended, of the notion that the tone of a violin is only pure and free when the instrument has been long played upon, for here, in this new violin, were found united all the qualities most earnestly desired—strength, fire, roundness, purity, freedom of speech, nobility; in a word, this violin was an example of extraordinary magnificence as well as of absolutely perfect tone. On this question of the necessity of playing upon a violin before its tone can be at its best, Spohr, when at Milan in 1811, wrote in his diary that amongst the fine collections of violins he found in that city, he saw four by Stradivarius, two of which were of the artist's best period. "The tone, says Spohr, "is full and strong, but somewhat new and woody, and to reach excellence they must be played on for at least ten years."
3Stradivarius was married, and had three sons and a daughter. The sons were named respectively Francesco, Omobono, and Paolo; the daughter was named Katharina. Paolo devoted himself to commerce, but the other two sons followed their father's calling. From 1725 to 1740, or thereabouts, Francesco made a few violins, which bear his name; but there are others made by him and his brother which bear the label, "Sotto la disciplina d'A. Stradivarius, Cremona." Omobono concerned himself more with the fitting up than with the making of the violins. He died in the early days of June, 1742. His brother Francesco only outlived him by eleven months, and was buried on the 13th of May, 1743.
5In the very front rank of the numerous pupils of
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