Enrico Ceruti (1806–1883) was an Italian violin maker born in Cremona, known as the last of the great line of violinmakers of Cremona.
He was the son of Giuseppe Ceruti and grandson to Giovanni Battista Ceruti. He was also an active dealer of fine old instruments dealing with Luigi Tarisio and Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume among others.
Being 3rd generation violin maker, he learned his trade from his father Giuseppe, and was a double bass player as well, like his father. Left the family home in 1826, and records show that by 1830 was registered as a violin maker, although few instruments from before 1840 survive. Experts speculate that it is conceivable that Enrico was working with his father during the period of 1840s-1850s and it would explain the extreme rarity of instruments made by Giuseppe dating from that period.
At a time when best European makers were imitating Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu, Enrico followed a different path. Enrico's work shows that he drew much of his inspiration from the Bergonzis. Enrico exhibited his instruments in various European cities, but his work does not seem to have been greatly appreciated outside Italy. As a result, he had not attained any great wealth. His students include Gaetano Antoniazzi.
"Ceruti Dynasty carried on the tradition from the times of Storioni and Bergonzi's - and became the direct link to the 20th century makers. Gaetano Antoniazzi (who learned his craft in the Ceruti workshop), along with his sons Riccardo and Romeo trained Leandro Bisiach, and together with the Antoniazzis, Bisiach influenced the creation of a workshop environment that was to dominate early to middle 20th Century Italian violinmaking." [1]
"Thanks to the efforts of many of those great makers (which began with Gaetano Antoniazzi) and later with support of people like Simone Fernando Sacconi, the glory of Cremona was re-established with the opening of the School of Violin Making (officially in 1938, Cremona)." [2]
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.
Carlo Bergonzi was an Italian luthier and is the first and most prominent member of the Bergonzi family, a distinguished group of luthiers from Cremona, Italy, a city with a rich tradition of stringed instrument makers. Today his instruments are highly valued for their workmanship and tone. Although he was historically assumed to have first apprenticed with Hieronymus Amati or Antonio Stradivari, he is now known to have been the student of Vincenzo Rugeri.
Sesto Rocchi (1909–1991) was a violin maker from Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Enrico Rocca was an Italian violin maker of the 19th and the 20th Centuries and son of Giuseppe Rocca.
Igino (Iginius) Sderci was a violin maker who studied under master maker Leandro Bisiach. Making more than 700 instruments including many large violas, he won gold medals at the prestigious Stradivarius Exhibition at Cremona in 1937 marking the bicentenary of Stradivari's death.
Carlo Bisiach (1892–1968) was a violin maker born in Milan, Italy. Bisiach's work contributed to the rebirth of violin making in the region after the difficult times of World War I and World War II. After working with his father Leandro in Milan and then Siena, Carlo established himself at Florence in 1922. The most talented of Leandro's sons, Carlo went on to develop his own style quite separate from the Antoniazzi-derived work of his father and brothers.
Leandro Bisiach was an Italian violin maker, who was born in Casale Monferrato and died in 1945 in Venegono Superiore near Varese.
Gaetano Sgarabotto (1878–1959) and his son, Pietro Sgarabotto (1903–1990) were Italian luthier. The father made more than 700 violins, violas and cellos. The son was also a master violin maker. Both passed their experience in the craft to the next generations.
Riccardo Antoniazzi was an Italian violin maker, the brother of Romeo Antoniazzi.
Gaetano Antoniazzi was an Italian violin-maker.
Romeo Antoniazzi was an Italian violin maker. He was the eighth son and pupil of Gaetano Antoniazzi. Antoniazzi was born in Cremona. Initially he worked with his father and brother and like them made instruments for Leandro Bisiach. However, depending on need or opportunity he worked in many different places. He worked on his own, with his brother, for Bisiach, for Monzino, or in Barlassina’s shop.
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.
Garimberti, Ferdinando (6 January 1894 – 26 March 1982) was an Italian violin maker.
Giuseppe Ornati -.
Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri, better known as Giuseppe filius Andrea Guarneri was a violin maker from the prominent Guarneri family of luthiers who lived in Cremona, Italy.
Lorenzo Storioni is considered one of the last of the classic Cremonese master violin makers/luthiers of the 18th century.
Giovanni Battista Ceruti (1756–1817) was an Italian violin maker, and is considered a direct link to the grand tradition of the Cremonese master violin makers of the 18th century. He known for his violins, cellos and double basses.
The Violin Museum, formerly the Stradivarius Museum, is a musical instrument museum located in Cremona. The museum is best known for its collection of stringed instruments that includes violins, violas, cellos, and double basses crafted by renowned luthiers, including Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù.
Vincenzo Rugeri, was an Italian luthier of string instruments such as violins, cellos, and, violas in Cremona, Italy. His instruments are noted for their craftsmanship and tone quality. Vincenzo came from a distinguished family of luthiers, the first of whom was his father, Francesco Rugeri. Despite the local tradition of artisan families laboring together through generations, Vincenzo left the family shop and set up a successful shop of his own in the center of Cremona. Vincenzo was the third son of luthier Francesco Rugeri. Vincenzo's work, like Francesco's, is influenced by Nicolò Amati's Grand Pattern model, however Vincenzo's work was distinguished from his father's by utilizing a lower arch inspired by Antonio Stradivari. An analysis of the body of his work reveals that the quality of Vincenzo's instruments is remarkable, perhaps even more so than his father's. Vincenzo's instruments, though less numerous, are valued at least equal to those of his father. A violin by Vincenzo Rugeri realized $502,320 on October 3, 2011 at Brompton's Auctions in London. Carlo Bergonzi was a distinguished apprentice of Vincenzo Rugeri.