Great Violinists And Pianists | Page 6

regarded by the
musical connoisseurs of the world. It was with the greatest difficulty
that they were persuaded a few years ago, by the efforts of Italian and
French musicians, to name one street Stradiuarius, and another Amati.
Nicholas Amati, the greatest maker of his family, was the instructor of
Antonius Stradiuarius, and during the early period of the latter artist the
instruments could hardly be distinguished from those of Amati. But, in
after-years, he struck out boldly in an original line of his own, and
made violins which, without losing the exquisite sweetness of the
Amati instruments, possessed far more robustness and volume of tone,
reaching, indeed, a combination of excellences which have placed his
name high above all others. It may be remarked of all the Cremona
violins of the best period, whether Amati, Stradiuarius, Guarnerius, or
Steiner, that they are marked no less by their perfect beauty and
delicacy of workmanship than by their charm of tone. These zealous
artisans were not content to imprison the soul of Ariel in other form
than the lines and curves of ideal grace, exquisitely marked woods, and
varnish as of liquid gold. This external beauty is uniformly

characteristic of the Cremona violins, though shape varies in some
degree with each maker. Of the Stradiuarius violins it may be said,
before quitting the consideration of this maker, that they have fetched
in latter years from one thousand to five thousand dollars. The sons and
grandsons of Antonius were also violin-makers of high repute, though
inferior to the chief of the family.
The name of Joseph Guarnerius del Jesû is only less in estimation than
that of Antonius Stradiuarius, of whom it is believed by many he was a
pupil or apprentice, though of this there is no proof. Both his uncle
Andreas and his cousin Joseph were distinguished violin-makers, but
the Guarnerius patronymic has now its chiefest glory from that member
known as "del Jesû." This great artist in fiddle-making was born at
Cremona in the year 1683, and died in 1745. He worked in his native
place till the day of his death, but in his latter years Joseph del Jesû
became dissipated, and his instruments fell off somewhat in excellence
of quality and workmanship. But his _chef d'oeuvres_ yield only to
those of the great Stradiuarius in the estimation of connoisseurs. Many
of the Guarnerius violins, it is said, were made in prison, where the
artist was confined for debt, with inferior tools and material
surreptitiously obtained for him by the jailer's daughter, who was in
love with the handsome captive. These fruits of his skill were less
beautiful in workmanship, though marked by wonderful sweetness and
power of tone. Mr. Charles Reade, a great violin amateur as well as a
novelist, says of these "prison" fiddles, referring to the comical
grotesqueness of their form: "Such is the force of genius, that I believe
in our secret hearts we love these impudent fiddles best, they are so full
of chic." Paganini's favorite was a Guarnerius del Jesû, though he had
no less than seven instruments of the greatest Cremona masters. Spohr,
the celebrated violinist and composer, offered to exchange his Strad,
one of the finest in the world, for a Guarnerius, in the possession of Mr.
Mawkes, an English musician.
Carlo Bergonzi, the pupil of Antonius Stradiuarius, was another of the
great Cremona makers, and his best violins have commanded
extraordinary prices. He followed the model of his master closely, and
some of his instruments can hardly be distinguished in workmanship

and tone from genuine Strads. Something might be said, too, of Jacob
Steiner, who, though a German (born about 1620), got the inspiration
for his instruments of the best period so directly from Cremona that he
ought perhaps to be classified with the violin-makers of this school. His
famous violins, known as the Elector Steiners, were made under
peculiar circumstances. Almost heartbroken by the death of his wife, he
retired to a Benedictine monastery with the purpose of taking holy
orders. But the art-passion of his life was too strong, and he made in his
cloister-prison twelve instruments, on which he lavished the most
jealous care and attention. These were presented to the twelve Electors
of Germany, and their extraordinary merit has caused them to rank high
among the great violins of the world. A volume might be easily
compiled of anecdotes concerning violins and violin-makers. The
vicissitudes and changes of ownership through which many celebrated
instruments have passed are full of romantic interest. Each instrument
of the greatest makers has a pedigree, as well authenticated as those of
the great masterpieces of painting, though there have been instances
where a Strad or a Guarnerius has been picked up by some strange
accident for a mere trifle at an auction.