On these pages are links to illustrated articles we’ve written, highlighting some of the noteworthy and/or unusual instruments that Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins has handled as well as important makers worthy of study. The links are divided into three groups:
- Articles published on this website (immediately below)
- Articles we’ve authored for the Cozio Archives of the Tarisio website (where you will be prompted to sign up for a free login to view articles) Jump to links
- Other externally-published articles (e.g., in The Strad magazine) Jump to links
Articles on This Website
Viotti and Tourte: A Tenuous Connection
Francois Xavier Tourte (1747-1835) is widely regarded as having created the greatest violin, viola, and cello bows of all time in his Paris workshop. Tourte is traditionally credited with establishing the standard weights, dimensions, and basic design that still endure today for the modern bow.
Read moreGiovanni Battista Rogeri, Part One: A Tale of Two Cities
The first violin was probably born in one of two towns in northern Italy, either Brescia or Cremona. Giovanni Battista Rogeri was the only important luthier of the 17th and 18th centuries to work in both.
Read moreGiovanni Battista Rogeri, Part Two: A Tale of Three Makers
In Part Two, we explore how the work of Giovanni Battista Rogeri (1642 – c. 1710), the only luthier of significance to work in both Brescia and Cremona, demonstrates a fusion of styles from both cities.
Read moreVittorio Bellarosa, Last of the Neapolitans
Vittorio Bellarosa (1907-1978) was the last of an unbroken Neapolitan tradition of violin making that had begun in the 17th century with Alessandro Gagliano (1665-1732). He was a prolific maker whose work is nearly exclusively devoted to Gagliano-inspired violins.
Read moreDavid Tecchler: German Emigre, Roman Master
David Tecchler is widely regarded as the most important maker of the Roman school of instrument making. German by birth, Tecchler emigrated to Rome at the end of the 17th century and ran a highly successful business there for roughly 50 years.
Read moreAlfredo Contino, Heir to a Legacy
Alfredo Contino (1890-c.1963) was a minor master of violin making, but a master nonetheless. He was a member of the last generation of makers in a centuries-old Neapolitan tradition.
Read moreMusic in Naples and the Gagliano Family of Violin Makers
The Gagliano family plays a significant role in the history of violin making. But it is impossible to discuss the prominence of the Gagliano family without an awareness of the importance of music in 18th century Neapolitan life.
Read moreAntonio Stradivari
Antonio Stradivari, deservedly the most famous violin maker of them all, was born in 1644 and worked in Cremona, Italy. By 1690 he had become the dominant force in bowed string instrument building in Europe.
Read moreNicolo Amati After 1640
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.
Read moreCozio Archives Articles










Other External Articles
Read “In Focus: A 1689 Cello by Andrea Guarneri“ from the July 2019 issue of The Strad magazine.
Read “In Focus: David Tecchler, the Most Renowned Maker of the Roman School“ from the June 2018 issue of The Strad magazine.
Soundpost Online is an online journal that was published by Stefan Hersh from 2000 through 2006. Over 90 articles by numerous guest authors were posted there, spanning a variety of stringed instrument-related top including the craft of violin making, how to buy a violin, connoisseurship, book reviews, teaching, performance, and more. Althugh new content is no longer posted there, the articles are still available to read.