STRADIVARI, Episode 2, âFortunate Sonâ
Nicolò Amati (1596-1684) was a very lucky man. First, he was born an Amati. His grandfather Andrea (~1505-1587) created the violin as we know it and for nearly two centuries the names Andrea, Antonio (~1540-1607), Girolamo (1561-1630), and Nicolò Amati were Cremonese violinmaking and Cremonese violins were the best of all violins. Second, miraculously he alone of all Italian violinmakers survived the Great Plague of Milan (1629-1631) which killed an estimated one third of the population of Northern and Central Italy including Nicolòâs father, mother, and two of his sisters. It is impossible to imagine violinmaking without Nicolò and his pupils. If he had died there would have been no Casa Guarneri, (Andrea, Pietro âof Mantuaâ, Giuseppe âfilius Andreaâ, Pietro of Venice, and Giuseppe âdel Gesuâ), no Francesco Rugeri, no G B Rogeri, no Mathias Klotz, no Giacomo Gennaro. Italian violinmaking as we know it today simply would not exist. Not even the great Antonio Stradivari. My casting choice to play Nicolò Amati: Dev Patel.
After rough arching the arch shape is refined with small planes. A radius template assures a strong, stabile shape in the cross section of the center of the arch. A small straight edge highlights the regularity of the arch shape (from convex to concave) in the outer bouts along a single line. A channel is sunk at the edge and the purfling is marked out and then cut with a knife and small chisel. And finally the purfling is glued in and trimmed down to the level of the arch. #violin #violinists #violinistsofinstagram #violinmaker
STRADIVARIUS! Congratulations to writer Itamar Moses who has sold a dramatic feature to Netflix. Set in 18th century Italy it will follow the worldâs two greatest violinmakers as they battle it out to create the perfect violin.
In anticipation I will be, over the course of the next few months, offering my own take on the characters and anecdotes to those unfamiliar with the history of Cremonese violinmaking.
Where better to start than with Antonio Stradivari himself.
Tall and lanky, little is known of Stradivariâs early years. He was born sometime around 1644 and lived to be over 90. He was an outsider that likely never formally trained as violin maker but instead âpicked it upâ. His character was shrewd, opportunistic, and devout. Autocratic with family, socially ambitious, and transactional in his relationships. My casting choices: David Bradley or the more patrician Sir Patrick Stewart (or maybe Adam Driver!?). #stradivari #violin #violinmaker #cremona
After the rib structure is finished it is placed on the back and outline of the ribs is scratched onto the wood. The plate is then sawn out and roughly arched with a plane. The edge thickness its marked with a marking gauge and the arching is further roughed out with a gouge.
