Nicolo Amati, the third generation of the illustrious Amati instrument makers, must have begun to assume a leadership role in the family workshop by the early 1620s. When his father, Girolamo I, died in 1630 amid the ravages of the plague, the 35-year-old Nicolo became the patriarch of the household and family business.
Read moreA Large Form Stradivari Cello: “Bonnet,” 1693
Prior to 1701 the Stradivari workshop built cellos of large dimensions, in keeping with the standards of the time. Most surviving examples have, like this one, been reduced in size due to changes in musical style.
Read moreA Brothers Amati Violin, Cremona, c. 1624
To fully appreciate the exquisite instrument shown here, it is instructive to go back to the dawn of the Amati violin-building tradition, believed to be sometime around 1525.
Read moreThe Bows of François-Nicolas Voirin
François-Nicolas Voirin (1833-1885) was perhaps the most important French bow maker of the second half of the 19th century. In 1855, after an apprenticeship in his hometown of Mirecourt with Jean Simon, Voirin moved to Paris to join the workshop of his cousin, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume.
Read moreA Violin by Antonio Stradivari: ex-Vieuxtemps, 1710
The reemergence of a long unseen Stradivari violin of the most desirable form and in superb condition, as is the Viextemps instrument featured in this article, is a rare occurrence.
Read moreA Cello d’Amore by Leandro Bisiach, 1915
Leandro Bisiach was internationally recognized as one of the most influential violin makers and dealers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Featured here is an unusual instrument he created in 1915, a “cello d’amore.”
Read moreTwo Violas by Zanetto and Peregrino, Early 16th Century
An air of mystery surrounds Zanetto and Peregrino, father-and-son makers from the very dawn of violin-family history whose surviving instruments are extremely rare today.
Read moreA J.B. Vuillaume Viola
The vast output from the Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume atelier is remarkable for its consistent quality. But Vuillaume violas as desirable as this one are rare.
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