Antonio Stradivari was an Italian luthier and a crafter 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, 960 of which were violins. Around 650 instruments survived, including 450 to 512 violins.
A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari, during the 17th and 18th centuries. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or equal it, though this belief is disputed. The fame of Stradivarius instruments is widespread, appearing in numerous works of fiction.
Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps was a Belgian composer and violinist. He occupies an important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th century. He is also known for playing upon what is now known as the Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù, a violin of superior workmanship.
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.
Il Cannone Guarnerius of 1743 is a violin fabricated by the Italian luthier Giuseppe Antonio Guarneri of Cremona (1698–1744).
Sergio Peresson (1913–1991) was an Italian-born violin maker.
Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri, del Gesù 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.
Michael Tree, born Michael Applebaum, was an American violist.
Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi was a master luthier who was active in the Italian 18th century during the golden age of stringed instrument making.
Joseph Curtin is an American contemporary violinmaker who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Samuel Zygmuntowicz is an award-winning contemporary luthier. He began his instrument making training at age 13, and studied making and restoration under Peter Prier, Carl Becker and René Morel. Since 1985 he has been based in Brooklyn, New York. His early work demonstrates expert skill as a copyist of classic instruments. Later work includes personal models informed by intensive advanced research. Findings from this research have been published in numerous print and digital media. Zygmuntowicz is an active fiddler, playing with several folk music groups. His playing can be heard on the recordings Grand Picnic, and Jump When the Trumpets Blow.
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, Carlo established himself at Florence in 1926. 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.
Andrea Guarneri was an Italian luthier, musician and founder of the Casa Guarneri. He is the most important student of Nicola Amati and grandfather of one of the best luthiers, Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri, del Gesù.
David Laurie - was a distinguished 19th century violin collector.
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.
Stewart Pollens is an expert on historical musical instruments. His work includes restoration, analysis, and scholarly publication; and it embraces keyboard instruments as well as historical stringed instruments such as the violin and cello. Andrew Manze has called him "one of the world’s foremost authorities on musical instruments."
The Vieuxtemps Guarneri is a violin built by the renowned Italian instrument maker Giuseppe Guarneri around 1741. One of the last built by Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri, this Guarneri del Gesù instrument gained its name after being owned by the Belgian 19th century violinist Henri Vieuxtemps. The instrument was later used by Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman. Past owners of the instrument have included Sir Isaac Wolfson and Ian Stoutzker.
David L. Fulton is a private collector of Cremonese instruments. Born in 1944, he grew up in Eugene, Oregon, playing the violin from an early age. He studied mathematics at the University of Chicago, and was concertmaster of the University of Chicago Symphony while he was there.
"Player preferences among new and old violins" is a scholarly paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesin January 2012. It describes a double-blind study in which researcher Claudia Fritz of the Pierre and Marie Curie University and violinmaker Joseph Curtin asked judges and participants at the 2010 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis to choose the violin they preferred from a pool of three modern violins, two Stradivariuses, and one Guarneri 'del Gesu'. Fritz and Curtin found that participants most frequently chose a new rather than old violin. This result—which contradicts widespread belief among violinists that the best 16th and 17th century Golden Age violins are superior to the best modern ones—attracted significant media attention.
