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 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.
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.
Francesco Rugeri, also known as Ruger, Rugier, Rugeri, Ruggeri, Ruggieri, Ruggerius, was the first of an important family of luthiers, the Casa Rugeri in Cremona, Italy. His instruments are masterfully constructed. His violins are inspired by Nicolò Amati's "Grand Amati" pattern. Francesco was the first to develop a smaller cello design, which has become the standard for modern cello dimensions. Today, Rugeri's instruments are nearly as renowned as Nicolò Amati's instruments.
Simone Fernando Sacconi was an expert Italian violin maker and restorer who studied fellow luthier Antonio Stradivari extensively during his lifetime.
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.
Giuseppe Fiorini (1861–1934) was an Italian luthier and is considered one of the most important Italian violin makers. He built his first instrument at the age of 16 while working in Bologna. He established Rieger and Fiorini in Germany from 1888, then lived in Zurich during World War 1 and Rome from 1923.
Gregg T. Alf is a prominent contemporary American violin maker based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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.
Dimitri Musafia is an artisan maker of violin and viola cases for his own company, Musafia. Residing in Cremona, Italy, he first trained as a violinist, and subsequently as a violin maker at the Stradivari Institute in Cremona, before self-teaching to make cases, beginning in 1983, on the basis of his previous studies.
Loeiz Honoré is a violin maker living in Cremona, Italy since 1978. Despite his being self-taught, in 1988 he won the "Homage to Stradivari" Violin Making Competition organized by the City of Cremona to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the death of Antonio Stradivari.
Nicola Amati, Nicolò Amati or Nicolao Amati was an Italian master luthier from Cremona, Italy. Amati is one of the most well-known luthiers from the Casa Amati. He was the teacher of illustrious Cremonese School luthiers such as Andrea Guarneri and Giovanni Battista Rogeri. While no clear documentation exists for their being apprentices in his shop, Amati may also have apprenticed Antonio Stradivari, Francesco Rugeri, and Jacob Stainer, as their work is heavily influenced by Amati.
Luisa Campagnolo is an Italian luthier.
Robert Brewer Young is a contemporary cello, viola and violin maker. He received traditional French training in the violinmaking studios above Carnegie Hall, caring for and listening to the instruments of Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati, Gofriller, Guadagnini and other classical Italian luthiers. Young is now devoted to creating signature instruments in the spirit of these visionaries. As a part of a select group of makers, museum specialists and acousticians he is at the forefront of using 21st-century science to practice and advance 17th-century methods of violinmaking. He additionally uses traditional techniques and Renaissance geometrical methods to recreate the elemental harmonic properties of classical Italian instruments. He is a director at J&A Beare and the head of the Department of Scientific Research and Conservation.
Traditional violin craftsmanship in Cremona was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2012, during the 7th session of the Intergovernmental Committee in Paris. The Cremona's traditional violin making is an ancient form of handicraft typical of Cremona, where bowed string instruments like violins, violas, cellos and double basses have been made since the 16th century.
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.
