Italian violin makers created such beautiful musical instruments that they are still considered the best, despite the fact that in our century many new technologies for their production have appeared. Many of them are still in excellent condition, and today they are played by the most famous and best performers in the world.
A. Stradivarius
The most famous and master craftsman is Antonio Stradivari, who was born and lived all his life in Cremona. Today, approximately seven hundred instruments made by his hands have survived in the world. Antonio's teacher was no less famous master Nicolo Amati.
Exact date A. Stradivari's birth is unknown. Having studied with N. Amati, he opened his own workshop and surpassed his teacher. Antonio improved the violins created by Nicolo. He achieved a more melodious and flexible voice for the instruments, made them more curved, and decorated them. A. Stradivari, in addition to violins, created violas, guitars, cellos and harps (at least one). The great master's sons were his students, but they were unable to repeat the success of their father. It is believed that he did not pass on the secret of the magnificent sound of his violins even to his sons, so it has not yet been solved.
Amati family
The Amati family are violin makers from an ancient Italian family. They lived in ancient city Cremona. Founded the Andrea dynasty. He was the first violin maker in the family. His exact date of birth is unknown. In 1530, he and his brother Antonio opened a workshop making violins, violas and cellos. They developed their own technologies and created modern tools. Andrea ensured that his instruments sounded silvery, gentle, clear and pure. At the age of 26, A. Amati became famous. The master taught his sons his business.
The most famous string maker in the family was Andrea Amati's grandson, Nicolo. He improved the sound and shape of the instruments his grandfather created. Nicolo increased the size, reduced the bulges on the decks, made the sides larger and more thin waist. He also changed the composition of the varnish, making it transparent and giving it shades of bronze and gold.
Nicolo Amati was the founder of a school for violin makers. Many famous manufacturers were his students.
Guarneri family
Violin makers from this dynasty also lived in Cremona. The very first violin maker in the family was Andrea Guarneri. Like A. Stradivari, he was a student. Since 1641, Andrea lived in his house, worked as an apprentice and for this he received free necessary knowledge. He left Nicolo's house in 1654, after he got married. Soon A. Guarneri opened his workshop. The master had four children - a daughter and three sons - Pietro, Giuseppe and Eusebio Amati. The first two followed in their father's footsteps. Eusebio Amati was named after his father's great teacher and was his godson. But, despite this name, he is the only one of A. Guarneri’s children who did not become a violin maker. The most famous of the family is Giuseppe. He surpassed his father. The violins of the Guarneri dynasty were not as popular as the instruments of A. Stradivari and the Amati family. The demand for them was due to their not very expensive cost and Cremonese origin - which was prestigious.
There are now approximately 250 instruments in the world made in the Guarneri workshop.
Lesser known violin makers in Italy
There were other violin makers in Italy. But they are less known. And their instruments are valued less than those created by great masters.
Gasparo da Salo (Bertolotti) is the main rival of Andrea Amati, who challenged the founder of the famous dynasty for the right to be considered the inventor of violins modern look. He also created double basses, violas, cellos, and so on. Very few of the instruments he created have survived to this day, no more than a dozen.
Giovanni Magini - student of G. da Salo. At first he copied his mentor's tools, then improved his work, relying on the achievements of the Cremonese masters. His violins have a very soft sound.
Francesco Ruggeri is a student of N. Amati. His violins are valued no less than those of his mentor. Francesco invented small violins.
J. Steiner
The outstanding violin maker in Germany is Jacob Steiner. He was ahead of his time. During his lifetime he was considered the best. The violins he created were of greater value than those made by A. Stradivari. Jacob's teacher was presumably Italian violin maker A. Amati, since his works reveal the style in which representatives of this great dynasty. The personality of J. Steiner remains mysterious to this day. There are many secrets in his biography. Nothing is known about when and where he was born, who his mother and father were, or what family he came from. But he had an excellent education, he spoke several languages - Latin and Italian.
It is assumed that Jacob studied with N. Amati for seven years. After that, he returned to his homeland and opened his own workshop. Soon the Archduke appointed him court master and gave him a good salary.
Jacob Steiner's violins were different from others. The arch of its decks was steeper, which made it possible to increase the volume inside the instrument. The neck, instead of the usual curls, was crowned with lion heads. The sound of his products was different from Italian samples, it was unique, cleaner and higher. The resonator hole was shaped like a star. He used Italian varnish and primer.
The Greatest Master of All Time bowed instruments born in Italy in 1644 in a village near Cremona. The Stradivarius family moved here from Cremona when the plague was raging there. The future violin maker spent his childhood here. In his youth, Antonio tried to become a sculptor, artist, and woodcarver, which would later help him accurately select materials for his masterpieces. Later he became interested in playing the violin. Unfortunately, disappointment awaited him here too - despite having an ideal ear for music, his fingers lacked mobility. Fascinated by violins, he got a job in the workshop of Nicolo Amati, the grandson of the founder famous dynasty Italian violin makers - Andrea Amati.
Antonio worked in the workshop for free, in exchange for the knowledge gained here. Niccolò Amati turned out to be not only an excellent violin maker, but also a good teacher both for A. Stradivari and for another student, A. Guarneri, who over time also became a famous master. 
In 1666, Stradivari made his first violin, the sounds of which were reminiscent of his teacher's violins. He wanted to make her different. With each newly created instrument, its sound improves and its quality improves. In 1680 he begins to work independently. In search of his own style, he tries to move away from Amati’s design, using new materials and a different processing method. At his violins different shape: he makes some narrower, others wider, some of them were shorter, others longer. His instruments were decorated with pieces of mother-of-pearl, Ivory, images of cupids or flowers. But the main difference between his violins and others was their extraordinary, special sound.
For many years the master searched for his own model, improving and perfecting his violins, until finally, in 1700, he designed his unsurpassed violin. Until the end of his days, the master continued to experiment, but no longer made fundamental deviations from the already created model. 
For many years, the master persistently and painstakingly developed wood processing techniques, combining different types of wood, obtaining a consistent sound. different parts violins. For top deck Stradivari used spruce, and maple for the bottom. The master was one of the first to notice that the sound of a violin largely depends on the properties of the varnish that was used to cover the instrument and the wood used for it. Buy matte varnish for wood from different breeds wood at an affordable price. Thanks to the elasticity of the varnish, the soundboards could resonate and “breathe,” which gave the timbre a special “volumetric” sound. It is believed that the mixtures were prepared from the resins of trees that grew in the Tyrolean forests, however, the exact composition of the varnishes was never established. Each violin made by the great master, like a living creature, had its own name and an incomparable unique voice. No master in the world has been able to achieve such perfection.
During his long, 93-year life, Stradivari gave the world more than a thousand violins, each of which is beautiful and unique. The best of them are considered to be the instruments created by the master from 1698 to 1725. Unfortunately, there are about 600 genuine instruments in the world today. Attempts by violin makers to create a resemblance to a Stradivarius violin were unsuccessful. Antonio Stradivari was married twice. From his first marriage he left three children. They lived in spacious house, where the master had his own workshop. Unfortunately, the wife died from one of the epidemics that happened often in those days and claimed the lives of many people. Stradivari married for the second time. In this marriage he had six children. His two children, Francesco and Omobono, when they grew up, began to work with their father, where they learned the secrets of his craft. They learned to make magnificent instruments, but none of them achieved the perfection of form and beauty of sound of their father's violin. The master himself continued to make instruments when he was already a venerable old man. Stradivari died at the age of 94, in 1737. The last violin genius master was born when he was 93 years old.
Antonio Stradivarius or Stradivarius
(1644 - December 18, 1737) - famous master of string instruments, student of Nicolo Amati. About 650 instruments of his work have survived.
Having tried many professions, he experienced failure everywhere. He wanted to become a sculptor, like Michelangelo; the lines of his statues were elegant, but their faces were not expressive. He abandoned this craft, earned his living by carving wood, making wooden decorations for rich furniture, and became addicted to drawing; with the greatest suffering he studied the ornamentation of doors and wall paintings of cathedrals and the drawings of great masters. Then he was attracted to music and decided to become a musician. He studied violin playing hard; but the fingers lacked fluency and lightness, and the sound of the violin was dull and harsh. They said about him: " Musician's ear, carver's hands". And he gave up the craft of a musician. But he did not forget it.
Biography
Antonio Stradivari was born around 1644 in a small settlement near Cremona in the family of Alexandro Stradivari and Anna Moroni. His parents were from Cremona. But at this time, a terrible plague was raging in the southern part of Italy, which reached their city. People fled wherever they could. So the Stradivarius family settled near Cremona, and they never returned there again. The future great master spent his childhood there. For a long time, young Antonio could not decide what to do. He tried to be a sculptor, painter, woodcarver, and violinist. But in order to seriously engage in music, he lacked the mobility of his fingers, despite the fact that he ear for music was perfect. Violins interested him, and at the age of 18 Antonio became a free student of the well-known violin maker Nicolo Amati in Italy. At the first stage of his stay with Amati, Stradivari performed only the most menial work and was, as they say, at the beck and call of recognized master. But one day Nicolo Amati saw Antonio carving f-holes on a useless piece of wood. And from that moment on, Antonio began to comprehend Amati’s skill, to learn how to choose wood, how to make maple or spruce sing, how thick the soundboards should be, what the purpose of the spring inside the instrument is, and what role the varnish covering it has in the sound of the violin. With persistence, Stradivarius achieved perfection in the sound of the violin. And when he heard that his violin sang the same way as Master Nicolo’s, he was overcome by the desire to make it different. Stradivari wanted to hear the sounds of women's and children's voices in it. But for a long time He failed to implement his idea. In 1680, Stradivarius began working independently.
In addition to the perfection of sound, his instruments were distinguished by their unusual design, as they would say today. All the violins were different, some he made narrower, others wider, some were shorter, some longer. Stradivarius decorated his instruments with pieces of mother-of-pearl, ebony, ivory, and images of flowers or cupids. They had a special sound; contemporaries compared the sound of his violins with the voice of a girl in a Cremona square. All this was said about own style his works, and therefore distinguished them favorably from many others. By the age of forty, Stradivarius was very rich and famous. The Italians said: “Rich as Stradivarius.”
It was difficult to call his personal life happy. He was widowed early and lost two adult sons, whom he hoped to make the support of his own old age, to reveal to them the secret of his skill and to pass on everything that he had achieved throughout his life. long life. However, he still has four more sons. Francesco and Omobono, although they worked with him, did not have his instincts, much less his talent. They just tried to copy him. The third son, Paolo, did not understand his craft at all, he was carried away by trade, and he was extremely far from art. The fourth son, Giuseppe, became a monk. Stradivarius was 76 years old. He lived to a ripe old age and achieved great respect and wealth. But thinking about his family, Antonio became increasingly gloomy. The violins understood and obeyed him much more than their own sons, and he knew how to feel them, which could not be said about his children. Stradivarius left them all his acquired property, they will acquire nice houses; but there was no one to leave the secret of his mastery to Stradivarius. For only a true master can pass on his experience and part of his talent; he did not feel even a grain of such abilities in his sons. He did not want to share with them the subtle ways of composing varnishes, recording the unevenness of the decks. Believing that all the nuances that he meticulously collected and learned over 70 years can only help, teach him to be a master and feel the tree as if it were alive, never. Calm does not leave Stradivarius. He will make tools until last days life, getting up early, sitting for hours in the laboratory and at the workbench. Despite the fact that every month it becomes more and more difficult for him to finish the violin he started. He stopped thinking about everything that had previously prevented him from sleeping peacefully. The master finally decided that he would take his secrets with him to the grave. It is better that they remain forever undiscovered than to pass on knowledge to those who have neither talent, nor love, nor courage. He already gave a lot to his family, they are rich, they still have his noble name and his good reputation. Over his long life, he made just over a thousand instruments, which were sold all over the world. In addition to violins, Stradivari made violas, guitars, cellos, and even made a harp. He was satisfied with the outcome of his journey, and therefore left calmly. 
On December 18, 1737, Stradivari's heart stopped. Dressed in black robes with hoods, belted with ropes, and wearing rough wooden sandals, the monks of the Dominican Order walked behind the hearse, in whose church the master bought a crypt for the burial of himself and his family during his lifetime. The sons walked solemnly and importantly behind the coffin, followed by the disciples. None of them ever learned the secret of the great master Antonio Stradivari.
The Mystery of Antonio Stradivari
The violin is in the hands of a wonderful musician, responding to his inspiration with a clear, deep voice. Like a living being, she told us about grief and joy, about tragedy and happiness, and everyone understood her in their own way, and she found her own response in everyone’s soul. Light golden, elegant, it sparkled with all its facets, and only a few knew that in fact its age was measured in centuries and that it was given to a musician from State collection only for this tour. This violin had no price: like any masterpiece, it was priceless. After two and a half centuries, it has retained all the nuances of its extraordinary sound. She brought to us the “soul of Stradivarius”... He was not loved for his stinginess and aloofness. They envied him - his wealth and fame. When he remarried at 55, a year after his wife's death, he was maligned. Not all of his eleven children survived, but when one of them died, they did not rush to him with words of consolation and sympathy. And they were also afraid of him, because he was terrible in his obsession: no one had ever seen him do nothing, not once in all nine decades of his life. Along with the first rays of the gentle Italian sun, he appeared on the roof of his three-story house in St. Domenic Square and hung up his tools; at sunset he went out to take them off. The students have long gone home, the sons helping with their work have gone to bed, and in the window of the workshop on the first floor there is a light shining, and every now and then the tall, thin figure of the great master flashes.
For almost two centuries, the Cremona school of violin makers accumulated experience in creating instruments that they had never known before. European scene. How many generations of masters had to change, passing on the secrets of their craft to each other, so that he, Stradivarius, could finally appear, who could not only absorb their knowledge, but also bring the common work to perfection!
80 years of intense, never-ending work. When my hands got tired, my brain continued to work. Antonio dreamed that he had to make a violin unsurpassed in its sound qualities, and he made it, although it took his whole life. At the age of 13, he glued his first instrument with the brilliant Nicolo Amati, but another 10 long years passed until, having opened his own workshop, he allowed himself not to be called a student on violin etiquette, and another 20 years when he first made an instrument different from those what his teacher did. 
What did he change then? Yes, he made the model longer, but a little narrower. The sound timbre became lower. And then he began to weigh the parts of the violin. It seemed to him that he was about to find in this flat instrument the best proportion between top deck and bottom. Then the idea appeared that the sound depended on the thickness of the decks. Dozens of prototypes were made, and it turned out that the thinner the deck, the lower the tone. But can the thickness be the same throughout? What should it be like then? Long years of calculations, experiments: somewhere, in some place a little thicker, somewhere a little thinner, just a fraction of a millimeter - and a different sound. Was it really necessary to live 93 years to finally establish a system by which the thickness of decks is determined? different places her, change from the center to the edges? Hundreds and thousands of options and, finally, the conclusion - the top part should be made of spruce, and not from Saxon, which has a lot of resin, but from Tyrolean or Italian. And for interior decoration, alder and linden will be suitable. How good maple works! He has one beautiful drawing cut: the tool must be elegant. Italian maple has a special shine, the surface of its cuts is silky, but you only need to take the trunk that was cut down in January, otherwise there will be a lot of juice in it - this will ruin everything.
Antonio is convinced that his violins should last for centuries. Stradivarius learned to choose wood accurately. But good tree He rarely came across one; he sometimes used one trunk for a whole decade, carefully selecting piece by piece. It’s better to glue it on, take a chance with the design, as long as it sounds good. And only he knew which tree to choose: young, old, or even with wormholes. When did he create his final model? In 1704? Decades of work and searches before a problem with many unknowns was solved. Yes, he found the main unknown when he was already 60 years old: he proved that its “voice” depends on the composition of the varnish with which the instrument is coated. And not only from the varnish, but also from the primer that needs to be used to cover the wood so that the varnish is not absorbed into it. And who can suggest their composition - scientists, alchemists? How much do they know about this? About one and a half thousand 
The instruments came from the workshop of the great Antonio Stradivari, and he made every single one of them with his own hands. And how much did he then reject in the process of endless searches?! This is what took 80 years, spent like one day, alone with the singing tree. He achieved fame and glory. He is commissioned for instruments - and not only violins, but also violas and viols - by kings and nobles. His creations are the best of all that was created in Europe; it was they who confirmed the superiority of the “Italian timbre” inherent only to them...
So what is the master dissatisfied with, what makes him suffer?
Centuries of craftsmanship musical instruments passed on by inheritance: from grandfather to father, from father to son, grandson. IN Northern Italy, in Brescia, there was a dynasty of violin makers, dating back to Gasparo Bertolotti. Here in Cremona, a dynasty has existed for 200 years, founded by Andrea Amati, whose grandson Nicola, who lived 88 years, taught Stradivarius this craft. Nikola's son, violin maker Girolami Amati, is still alive; he is only five years younger than Stradivari. Even Andrea Guarneri, with whom Antonio studied with Amati, became the founder of a dynasty of masters, and his grandson Giuseppe, nicknamed del Gesu, seems to eclipse the glory of Stradivari himself. And only Signor Antonio himself does not leave behind heirs to his talent. Both of his sons, Francesco and Omobono, did not go further than apprentices. Why did he work so hard, to whom will he leave the secrets of his mastery? Who will he open it to? great meaning deck thickness tables, system of measuring points - its points, composition of primer and varnish, methods of their preparation? Take them to the grave with you? He spent 80 years trying to achieve perfection in his craft. Can anyone else do this? So, is he destined to remain unsurpassed for centuries?
Almost two and a half centuries have passed since the death of the great master Antonio Stradivari. His careless sons outlived their father by only 5-6 years. Until his last days, 93-year-old Stradivarius worked on violins. Blanks of instruments have been preserved, on the label of which, next to the traditional Maltese cross, is the name of the creator and the date - 1737, the year of his death. There are now about 800 instruments in the world, which are known for sure to have been made by the hand of the great Stradivarius. Among them is the famous cello called “Bass of Spain” and tiny “pochettes” - violins for dance teachers, the most magnificent creation The masters are the “Messiah” violin and the “Münz” violin, from the inscription on which it was determined that the master was born in 1644. But the secrets of creativity, which suddenly disappeared with his death, have not yet been solved. Everything that can be measured has been measured, everything that can be copied has been copied, but no one can make a violin made according to these measurements “sing” the way it did with the great Stradivarius. To this day it is not possible to determine chemical composition primer and varnish applied to his tools. That is why the legend about the “soul of Stradivari”, imprisoned in his violins and talking to his descendants, is passed down from generation to generation. 
The secret of Antonio Stradivari's violins
Scientists around the world are trying to unravel the mystery of Stradivarius violins. Even during his lifetime, the masters said that he sold his soul to the devil - but they also said that several violins were made from the wreckage of Noah's Ark. Stradivari made his first violin in 1666, but for more than 30 years he searched for his own model. Only in the early 1700s did the master construct his own, still unsurpassed, violin. It was elongated in shape and had kinks and irregularities inside the body, due to which the sound was enriched due to the appearance large quantity high overtones. From that time on, Antonio no longer made fundamental deviations from the developed model, but experimented until the end of his long life. Stradivari died in 1737, but his violins are still highly valued; they practically do not age and do not change their “voice.” During his life, Antonio Stradivari made about 2,500 instruments, of which 732 are undoubtedly authentic. In addition to bowed ones, he also made one harp and two guitars. It is generally accepted that the most best tools were made from 1698 to 1725 (and the best in 1715). They are especially rare and therefore highly prized by both musicians and collectors. Many Stradivarius instruments are in rich private collections. There are about two dozen Stradivarius violins in Russia: several violins are in the State Collection of Musical Instruments, one in the Glinka Museum and several more in private ownership. Scientists and musicians around the world are trying to unravel the mystery of how Stradivarius violins were created. Even during his lifetime, the masters said that he sold his soul to the devil, they even said that the wood from which several of the most famous violins, are the wreckage of Noah's Ark. There is an opinion that Stradivarius violins are so good because a real instrument begins to sound truly good only after two or three hundred years. Many scientists have conducted hundreds of studies on violins using latest technologies, but they have not yet been able to unravel the secret of Stradivarius violins. It is known that the master soaked the wood in sea water and exposed it to complex chemical compounds of plant origin.
At one time it was believed that Stradivari's secret was in the shape of the instrument; later they began to attach great importance to the material, which is constant for Stradivarius violins: spruce for the top, maple for the bottom. They even believed that it was all about the varnishes; The elastic varnish covering Stradivarius violins allows the soundboards to resonate and “breathe.” This gives the timbre a characteristic “big” sound.
According to legend, Cremonese craftsmen prepared their mixtures from the resins of some trees that grew in those days in the Tyrolean forests and were soon completely cut down. The exact composition of those varnishes has not been established to this day - even the most sophisticated chemical analysis was powerless here. In 2001, biochemist Joseph Nigiware of the University of Texas announced that he had unraveled the secret of Stradivarius. The scientist came to the conclusion that the special sound of the bowed strings was the result of the master’s efforts to protect them from the woodworm. Nigiwara found out that when the master created violins, wooden blanks were often affected by woodworm, and Stradivari resorted to borax to protect the unique musical instruments. This substance seemed to solder the molecules of the wood, changing the overall sound of the violin. When Stradivari died, the victory over the woodworm in Northern Italy had already been won, and subsequently the borax was no longer used to protect the tree. Thus, according to Nigiwara, the master took the secret with him to the grave.
1. Biography
There is no reliable information about the birth of Stradivari; history has preserved it. "Father's, Alessandro (Italian) Alessandro Stradivari ), and an approximate date of birth, between 1644 and 1649. It is also known that Stardivari was born in Cremona. Without a doubt, his mother cannot be, as traditionally believed, Anna Moroni (Italian. Anna Moroni), Because she was married to another Alessandro Stradivari, who died in 1630, much before birth Antonio.
One of the violins contains a signature Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Alumnus Nicolaij Amati, Faciebat Anno 1666 (Antonius Stradivarius of Cremona, student of Nicolaij Amati, made in 1666), the only evidence that Stardivari was a student of the famous Cremonese Nicolo Amati. The violin itself and whether it belonged to Antonio Stradivari's mark were the subject of debate. Alfred and Arthur Hill spoke in favor of authenticity, in the work "Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work", text of 1902, which takes into account the authoritative testimony of Simone Fernando Sacconi (Italian. Simone Fernando Sacconi ) And Charles Bear (eng. Charles Beare). However, Bear, given the fact that all violins are next year already contain the signature with which Stradivari signed the rest of his life: Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno (Antonio Stradivarius of Cremona, made [date]), without mentioning Amati, he wonders - it cannot be assumed that the violin is mistakenly attributed to Stradivarius, and indeed the name Amati should be on it.
From the church books of the parish of St. Agatha we know that Stradivari settled in this quarter of Cremona in 1667. In the same year he married his first wife Francesca Ferraboschi (Italian. Francesca Ferraboschi ). His children were born in this house - Julia Maria, Catherine, Francesco, Alessandro, Omobono. Of these, Francesco and Omobono later also became violin makers. In the instruments Stradivarius made during this period, the influence of Nicolo Amati is undoubtedly felt. Incredibly, only about two dozen instruments remain from this period, so it can be assumed that he did some of his work under the supervision of other violin makers, for example Amati or Francesco Ruggeri (Italian. Francesco Ruggieri). The instruments made under his name are of decent quality, but not brilliant.
In 1680, Stardivari bought a house with a workshop in Piazza San Domenico (Italian. piazza San Domenico) (Today it is Piazza Roma (Italian. piazza Roma)), in which he worked until his death. Stradivari's wife, Francesca, died on May 20, 1698. Antonio remarried on August 24, 1699 to Zambelli Costa (Italian. Zambelli Costa), who gave birth to five children - Francesca Maria, Giovanni Battista Giuseppe, Giovanni Battista Martino, Giuseppe Antonio and Paolo.
According to one researcher from Texas, the varnishes used by Stardivari were enriched with submicroscopic crystalline minerals, of which the researcher counted 22, but there probably should have been more. According to those known on this moment According to Stradivari, to strengthen the structure of wood, he used a glassy preparation - a mixture of potash, willow and coal. After prolonged exposure to this mixture, the wood became almost crystalline, giving the wood extreme durability over time. In this case, the varnish could not be applied directly, since chemical reaction with the previous layer. Stradivarius therefore applied a second layer: an insulating material consisting of protein, honey, sugar and gum arabic. Finally, it was superimposed thin layer varnish that did not penetrate deep into the wood of the violin.
For his instruments, Stradivari used Balkan maple for the back, sides and neck; European spruce for the top. Legend says that he ordered tree trunks to be migrated and listened to the sound to choose the best ones. But the master’s amazing ability to “hear” the tree was influenced external factor: glaciation, a period of severe cooling and severe climate that engulfed continental Europe between the 17th half of the 18th century. There was a "luck" factor here. According to one theory, special climatic conditions caused by icing led to a decrease in plant photosynthetic activity, suppressing growth and increasing the density and elasticity of wood. Thanks to these properties, Stradivari was able to use wood without defects. However, this theory is unconvincing, since the rest of Stradivari's contemporaries would also have benefited from this climatic phenomenon.
Italian Vittorio Salerno). The role of Stradivarius was played by Anthony Quinn.
In the detective film "A Visit to the Minotaur" (1987) one of storylines- the life of Antonio Stradivari. Main role played in the film
It can be noted that people who have achieved perfection in any activity almost always have students. After all, knowledge exists in order to disseminate it. Someone passes it on to their relatives, from generation to generation. Some pass it on to equally talented craftsmen, while others simply pass it on to all those who show interest. But there are also those who last breath trying to hide the secrets of their skills. Anna Baklaga about the mysteries of Antonio Stradivari.
Before you understand your true purpose, Great master went through many professions. He tried painting, making wooden decorations for furniture, and sculpting statues. Antonio Stradivari diligently studied the ornamentation of doors and wall paintings of cathedrals until he realized that he was attracted to music.
Stradivarius did not become famous due to insufficient mobility of his hands
Despite diligent practice of playing the violin famous musician he failed to become. Stradivari's hands were not mobile enough to produce a particularly pure melody. However, he had excellent hearing and a burning desire to improve sound. Seeing this, Nicolo Amati (Stradivari's teacher) decided to initiate his student into the process of creating a violin. After all, the sound of a musical instrument directly depends on the quality of the build.
Soon, Antonio Stradivari found out how thick the soundboards should be. Learned how to choose the right tree. I understood what role the varnish that covers it plays in the sound of a violin, and what the purpose of the spring inside the instrument is. At twenty-two he made his first violin.
Stradivari wanted to hear children's and women's voices in his violin
After he managed to create a violin that sounded no worse than his teacher’s, he began to work on his own. Stradivarius had a dream to build the most ideal instrument. He was simply obsessed with this idea. In the future violin, the master wanted to hear the sounds of children's and women's voices.
Before achieving the desired result, Antonio Stradivari went through thousands of options. The most important thing was to find the right type of wood. Each tree resonates differently, and he looked to differentiate them by their acoustic properties. Great importance It also mattered in what month the trunk was cut down. For example, if it was spring or summer, then there was a chance that the tree would ruin everything, since it would have a lot of sap. It was rare to come across a truly good tree. Often, the master carefully used one barrel for several years.
The sound of the future violin directly depended on the composition of the varnish with which the instrument was coated. And not only from the varnish, but also from the primer that needs to be used to cover the wood so that the varnish is not absorbed into it. The master weighed the parts of the violin trying to find the best proportion between the lower and upper soundboard. It was long and painstaking work. Many tried and tested options long years calculations went into making a violin unsurpassed in sound qualities. And only at the age of fifty-six did he manage to construct it. It was elongated in shape and had kinks and irregularities inside the body, due to which the sound was enriched due to the appearance of a large number of high overtones.
Stradivari created the perfect instrument at the age of 56
However, in addition to the excellent sound, his instruments were famous unusual appearance. He skillfully decorated them with all sorts of designs. All violins were different: short, long, narrow, wide. Later he started making others stringed instruments- cello, harp and guitar. Thanks to his work, he achieved fame and honor. Kings and nobles ordered him instruments that were considered the best in Europe. During his life, Antonio Stradivari made about 2,500 instruments. Of these, 732 originals have survived.
For example, the famous cello called “Bass of Spain” or the master’s most magnificent creation – the “Messiah” violin and the “Münz” violin, from the inscription on which (1736. D’anni 92) it was calculated that the master was born in 1644.
However, despite the beauty that he created as a person, he is remembered as silent and gloomy. To his contemporaries he seemed aloof and stingy. Perhaps he was like this because of constant hard work, or maybe they were just jealous of him.
Antonio Stradivari died at ninety-three years old. But until the end of his long life, he continued to make instruments. His creations are admired and appreciated to this day. Unfortunately, the master did not see worthy successors the knowledge he acquired. Literally, he took it with him to the grave.
Stradivarius made about 2,500 instruments, 732 originals survive
The most interesting thing is that the violins he made practically do not age and do not change their sound. It is known that the master soaked the wood in sea water and exposed it to complex chemical compounds of plant origin. However, it is still not possible to determine the chemical composition of the primer and varnish applied to his instruments. Using the example of Stradivari's work, scientists conducted many studies and attempts to make a similar violin. Until now, no one has been able to achieve that perfect sound like the master’s original creations.
Many Stradivarius instruments are in rich private collections. There are about two dozen violins by the master in Russia: several violins are in the State Collection of Musical Instruments, one is in the Glinka Museum and several more are in private ownership.
