Books › The violinist, 1900 › scan 189
Scan 189
The violinist, 1900
18 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1THE VIOLINIST
3JACQUES THIBAUD
5develop the artistic possibilities of the new invention.
7So far as we know, the first violin was made by Gasparo di Bertholotti, usually called da Salo, who worked in Brescia, a town about 75 miles from Cremona: 1542-1609. His violins are extremely rare and for that reason a great attraction in collections. The somber, almost melancholy character of their tone, does, however, not quite satisfy the soloist of today. In appearance they are clumsy and have little of the beauty that we are wont to ascribe to the queen of instruments. His immediate successor was Viovanni Paolo Maggini: 1580-1632. He is supposed to have been a pupil of da Salo and did a great deal in the development of tone and outline of the instrument. His work is more painstaking, more finished, and his dimensions show that he was working for a different aim in tone. Maggini's tone has yet a touch of the pathos which characterizes da Salo's instruments, but it is rich, full and has remarkable sonority. De Salo and Maggini created what is termed the Brescian School which seems to have enjoyed a great reputation, for we see many makes follow their footsteps. Among their followers, however, we observe no advance; in fact, most of them were mere artisans.
9Our eye is now directed to the Cremonese School. We find here a family, the Amati's, which holds our attention for almost one hundred and fifty years. Beginning a little later than the Brescian School, the art progresses through the different members of the family to the point where the greatest violin maker, Antonio Stradivari, appeared.
11I regret that I cannot go into detail in describing each maker of that family. Nicolas Amati, the grandson of the founder of the Cremona School demands our special attention because he was the teacher of Stradivari and had achieved the highest results up to that time.
13His violins are finished art works, beautiful in wood and construction. The tone is clear and flexible with a refined nobility, but for the demand of today it lacks broadness, power and sonority.
15Of all the violin makers Antonio Stradivari, 1644-1737, carried the art to the highest perfection. Possessed with all the qualities necessary for the calling, he began his work with Nicolas Amati at an early age. Violin making as done in the shops of the Amati's was an art and not a mere mechanics' occupation. They received orders from the nobility and other influential people near and far. Their high ideals are stamped on their works and it was through their high aims that their great achievements were possible. Stradivari learned his art so well that in some instances it is impossible to tell whether a certain violin was made by him, or his teacher. The label alone is not always proof, for as far back as the golden period of violin making fraud has been practiced.
17We will consider several periods in Stradivari's work. We know that he was
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.