Annibale Fagnola (1866–1939) was an Italian violin maker. [1] [2] He was born in Montiglio Monferrato, Italy, and in 1894 moved to Turin, where he worked until his death. His instruments today are prized for their beautiful craftsmanship and sonorous tone. He was largely self-taught, though may also have studied with Marengo-Rinaldi. Through beautiful copies of important violins by Guadagnini, Pressenda, Oddone and Rocca, he transmitted the tradition of the 18th and 19th Century Piedmontese masters and made it his own. He exhibited at Genoa and Milan in 1906 where he gained international recognition and his business blossomed. He gradually developed his own style, and made his best instruments during the 1920s.
Amati is the last name of a family of Italian violin makers who lived at Cremona from about 1538 to 1740. Their importance is considered equal to those of the Bergonzi, Guarneri, and Stradivari families. Today, violins created by Nicolò Amati are valued at around $600,000. Because of their age and rarity, Amati instruments are mostly kept in museum or private collections and are seldom played in public.
Antonio Stradivari was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, Stradivarius, as well as the colloquial Strad are terms often used to refer to his instruments. It is estimated that Stradivari produced 1,116 instruments, of which 960 were violins. Around 650 instruments survive, including 450 to 512 violins. His instruments are considered some of the finest ever made, and are extremely valuable collector's items.
A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari, in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. These instruments are known for their craftsmanship, tonal quality, and lasting legacy, and are considered some of the finest ever made. Stradivari's violins, in particular, are coveted by musicians and collectors, with many selling for millions of dollars.
A luthier is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments.
The Guarneri, often referred to in the Latinized form Guarnerius, is the family name of a group of distinguished luthiers from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati and Stradivari families.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume was a French luthier, businessman, inventor and winner of many awards. His workshop made over 3,000 instruments.
David Tecchler, sometimes also written Techler, Tekler, Deckler, Dechler, Decler, Teccler or Teckler, (1666–1748) was a German luthier, best known for his cellos and double basses.
Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his instruments, and for many prominent players and collectors his instruments are the most coveted of all. Instruments made by Guarneri are often referred to as Del Gesùs.
Giovanni Paolo Maggini, was a luthier born in Botticino (Brescia), Republic of Venice. Maggini was a pupil of the most important violin maker of the Brescian school, Gasparo da Salò.
Carlo Annibale Tononi (1675–1730) was a luthier who trained and worked with his father in the Tononi family workshop in Bologna, Italy, until his father, Johannes Tononi, died in 1713. After his father's death, Tononi moved to the more important center of music in Italy, Venice.
Leandro Bisiach was an Italian violin maker, who was born in Casale Monferrato and died in 1945 in Venegono Superiore near Varese.
Ernst Heinrich Roth (1877–1948), also often referred to as Ernst Heinrich Roth I to distinguish him from later family members of the same name, was a German luthier and master of a large and successful violin-making workshop in the East German town of Markneukirchen, near the current border with the Czech Republic. He was the most important and distinguished figure in a whole dynasty of Roth luthiers active in Germany over many generations and to this day.
Gregg T. Alf is a prominent contemporary American violin maker based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Celeste Farotti was a violin maker in the modern Milanese school. Though his apprenticeship is uncertain, he completed his training in the workshop of Leandro Bisiach, finally opening his own shop in Milan around 1900. He was a connoisseur of Italian violin making, and a gifted copyist. After an accident during a mountain trip, Celeste stopped working and his nephew, Celestino Farotto, ran the shop until his death.
Pietro Guarnieri was an Italian luthier. Sometimes referred to as Pietro da Venezia, he was the son of Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri, filius Andreae, and the last of the Guarneri house of violin-makers
Riccardo Antoniazzi was an Italian violin maker, the brother of Romeo Antoniazzi.
Giuseppe Pedrazzini was an Italian violin maker. He was a pupil of Riccardo Antoniazzi and Romeo Antoniazzi in Milan, then began to work on his own there. He quickly gained recognition and won awards at various exhibitions, including those in Rome in 1920 and in Cremona in 1937. He modelled his instruments after various patterns, especially those of Stradivari, G.B. Guadagnini and Amati, all of which he interpreted freely. Tonally his work is among the best of the early 20th-century Italian makers. He was a meticulous and elegant craftsman; the scrolls of his instruments are always deeply carved, and the symmetrically rounded curves of the bouts and flanks provide a distinctive touch. Besides new instruments, he made a number of skilful antiqued copies. He used a variety of different labels and, depending on the period, one of three different brands. A good part of his output was exported, and he had particularly close ties with Hawkes & Son in London. Among his pupils and associates were Ferdinando Garimberti, P. Parravicini and his nephew N. Novelli.
Franco Mezzena born 4 November 1953 in Trento, northern Italy, is an Italian violin virtuoso. He studied ten years with Salvatore Accardo.
Francesco Antonio Mamiliano Pistocchi, nicknamed Pistocchino, was an Italian singer, composer and librettist.
Andrea Postacchini was an Italian violin maker born in Fermo, known as "Stradivari of the Marches".