# A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Stradivari, Antonio

​STRADIVARI, Antonio (Antonius Stradivarius), a celebrated violin-maker of Cremona, born in 1649 or 1650, died December 1737. The name carries us back to the middle ages. It is the plural form of Stradivare, a Lombard variety of Stradiere (Stratiarius), a toll-man or douanier, a feudal official who was posted on the strada or high-road for the purpose of exacting dues from passengers. The name is erroneously stated by Fétis to occur in the municipal archives of Cremona as far back as the year 1127. The earliest mention of it is in fact in the Matricola of the Collegio Dei Notai for 1213, after which date it frequently recurs during three centuries. Arisi, in his 'Cremona Litterata,' mentions Galerio Stradivari as a learned orientalist in 1230, Alessandro as another orientalist in 1400, about which time Costanzo Stradivari, a monk of the order of Umiliati, wrote a treatise on the natural philosophy of Aristotle. Other notables of the name occur in the middle ages. It is clear that it was a common name in Cremona: but there is no evidence to connect the fiddle-maker with these eminent persons. His pedigree, so far as we know it, goes back only to his father, one Alessandro Stradivari, who married Anna Moroni. The famous fiddle-maker was the child of his father's mature years, for he had at least one elder brother, Giuseppe Giulio Cesare, who was born March 20, 1623, and was thus not less than 26 years older than Antonio. Whether Stradivari was a native of Cremona is doubtful; probably not, for the registers of the 37 parishes of Cremona have been searched in vain for evidence of his birth and baptism by Signore Lombardini, who has taken great pains to elucidate the genealogy of the Stradivaris. He may possibly have been a native of some neighbouring village.
At the age of 17 or 18, Stradivari seems to have engaged the affections of a widow 9 or 10 years his senior. This was Francesca, the daughter of Francesco Ferraboschi, and widow of Giovanni Giacomo Capra, who was assassinated by an arquebus ball on the Piazza Santa Agata of Cremona (now the Piazza Garibaldi), April 28, 1664. The widow Capra, who had been less than two years a wife, returned with her infant child to her father's house, and after three years was married to Antonio Stradivari. The marriage was solemnised in the church of St. Agatha on July 4, 1667; and their first child was born a few months afterwards. There can be little doubt that Stradivari married, and began to make stringed instruments as a trade, in the same year. From 1667 to 1679 he remained in comparative obscurity. A few violins dated in the seventies, with genuine labels bearing his name, are said to exist, but the writer has seen none of them. On the other hand, it is certain that Stradivari's hand is traceable in many violins of this date which bear the name of Nicholas Amati. In some of these we trace the hand of Stradivari in the scroll only: in others it has left its mark on the whole violin. From 1667 to 1679 it is therefore probable that Stradivari worked in the workshop of the veteran Nicholas Amati, then the acknowledged head of violin-making in Cremona. In 1679, when Nicholas seems to have retired from business, five years before his death in 1684, Stradivari probably set up for himself. His wife Francesca had by this time borne him six children, of whom five were living: Giulia, born Dec. 23, 1667, afterwards married to the notary Giovanni Farina; Francesco, who died in infancy; Francesco the second, born 1670, who followed his father's trade, and died a bachelor in 1743; Cattarina, born ​1674, who died a spinster in 1748; Alessandro, born 1677, became a priest, died 1732; and lastly Omobono, born 1679, who also followed his father's trade, and died a bachelor in 1742.
In 1680, at the age of 30 or 31, Stradivari purchased the house now known as no. 1 Piazza Roma, but formerly known as no. 2 Piazza San Domenico, where for half a century and more he continued to carry on business, and where he built the innumerable instruments which have made his name a household word wherever stringed music is heard. He bought the house of the brothers Picenardi for 7000 imperial lire: the conveyance is dated June 3. The house is a plain structure of three storeys, situate at the south-western angle of the piazza, which was formerly bounded on the north by the great church of S. Domenico, and from which the piazza took its name. This church has now been pulled down, the piazza being thus considerably enlarged, and the whole space enclosed and converted into a public garden. On the ground-floor the house consists of two apartments, one fronting the piazza, the other opening into a little courtyard: a staircase at right angles on the left gives access to the upper storeys. Following the common practice of Italian artisans, Stradivari probably employed both the ground-floor rooms as workshops, and lived in the upper part with his wife and family, which, when he bought the house in 1680, consisted of his five children, the eldest girl 12 years of age, and of Susanna Capra, his wife's only daughter by her former marriage, then a girl of 17. Susanna resided with her mother and step-father at the house in the Piazza Roma, until December 1688, when she became the wife of Francesco Luca.
The period of Stradivari's first marriage lasted 10 years longer. On May 20, 1698, Francesca died, at the age of 58. Stradivari was then 48 or 49: and after the lapse of a little more than a year, he took unto himself a second wife. This was Antonia, daughter of Antonio Zambelli: the coincidence of names is curious. Antonia was 14 or 15 years younger than her husband, having been born on June 11, 1664: they were married at the church of San Donato on Aug. 24, 1699. By his second marriage Antonio had five children: Francesca, born 1700, died 1720; Giovanni B. Giuseppe, born 1701, died in infancy; Giovanni B. Martino, born 1703, died 1727; Giuseppe, born 1704, became a priest, and died at the age of 77 in 1781; and lastly Paolo, born 1708. Paolo was the only son of Stradivari who had issue, and it is through him that the present representatives of the family trace their descent. Antonia Stradivari survived three of her children, and died at the age of 73 on March 3, 1737. Her husband survived her only nine months, when he followed her to the grave at the ripe age of 87 or 88. He died on Dec. 18, and was buried on the following day. In 1729 he had purchased a burial-place in the great basilica of San Domenico. It had formerly belonged to Francesco Villani, who was buried there in 1721. In 1729 the heirs of Villani sold it to Stradivari. It was situated in the Chapel of the Rosary, on the left hand of the entrance. The economical habits of the fiddle-maker are illustrated by the fact that he had the old stone recut, the new inscription being cut at right angles to the old one, parts of which are still legible. When the basilica of San Domenico was demolished to make the new public garden, the stone which marked the burial-place of the Stradivaris was spared, and it is still preserved in the vaults of the Palazzo dei Tribunali.
Stradivari marks the culminating point of the art of making stringed instruments. It was he who perfected the model of the violin and its fittings. No improvement has been made since his time, and subsequent makers of the last century and a half have mostly copied him. The model of Cremona had been developing for nearly two centuries, when he gave it its final form. It is true that if we take the model of the Cremona violin as it left the hands of Antonius Amati, and compare it with the patterns of Nicholas Amati and of Stradivari, we shall find that Nicholas Amati had effected the chief improvements, and left but little for Stradivari to do. The Stradivari violin is an improved Nicholas Amati. We have the same main proportions and geometrical outline, and, what is of equal or greater importance, the same careful mechanical work in the inside (the blocks and linings being made and fitted on the same principle and with wood of the same quality), the same fine finish, and soft lustrous varnish. But in the Nicholas Amati, though sweet and resonant in tone, acoustic considerations did not predominate over certain of the traditions of design: and in this respect his successor had several reforms to effect. Stradivari's main improvements consisted (1) In lowering the height of the model, that is, the arch of the belly, and in altering this flattened curve to a more uniform arch, so as to afford greater resistance to the pressure of the strings. (2) In making the four corner blocks more massive, in an improved method of dove-tailing the linings at the blocks, and in giving a greater curvature to the middle ribs, ​the result of which is to make the curves more prominent in the outline, and to increase the tension of the parts. (3) In altering the setting of the soundholes, giving them a decided inclination to each other at the top, thus following the general upward diminution of the pattern, and in fixing the position of the sound-holes relatively to the cornerblocks. (4) In making the scroll more massive and prominent, thus rendering it less liable to split at the pegholes, and forming more of a counterpoise in the hand of the player.
In those violins of Nicholas Amati in which the hand of Stradivari is traceable, the chief element of difference consists in the scroll. This is wider when viewed from the back, is less deeply scooped in the volute, and more rounded on the edges. The soundholes are still those of Amati, though with a slight difference in the cutting. In his own earlier works, sold under the name of Amati, but made in all their parts by Stradivari, we begin to trace the improvements just indicated. 'At this point,' says Mr. Hart ('The Violin,' p. 126), 'we find that his whole work is in accordance with the plans of Amati (not as seen in the latter's 'grand' pattern, but in his ordinary full-sized instrument): the arching is identical, the corners are treated similarly, the soundhole is quite Amati-like in form, yet easily distinguished by its extreme delicacy, the scroll a thorough imitation of Amati, and presenting a singular contrast to the vigorous individuality which Stradivarius displayed in this portion of his work a few years later… In these earlier specimens there is a singular absence of handsome wood: the acoustical properties of the material are very good, but it has little figure in it, and is often cut on the cross.' This cutting on the cross, which refers only to the back, is seldom met with in Stradivari's later instruments, and it would appear that he found 'slab' backs inconsistent with that depth of tone which he desired. Such are the marks of what the French call the amatisé Stradivarius. These instruments were made during the lifetime of Nicholas Amati, when none of his pupils ventured to deviate much from his pattern, and before Stradivari opened his own workshop in the Piazza San Domenico.
We now reach the period when Stradivari had attained maturity of experience, and freed himself from the influence of his master, and consequently began to display his own originality. This period corresponds exactly with the period between his taking his house in the Piazza San Domenico, and the death of his first wife (1680-1698). Of the violins of this period Mr. Hart ('The Violin,' p. 127) says, 'We here observe a marked advance in every particular. The form is flatter, the arching differently treated. The soundhole, which is a masterpiece of gracefulness, reclines more. The curves of the middle bouts are more extended than in this maker's later instruments. The corners are brought out, although not prominently so. Here, too, we notice the change in the formation of the scroll. He suddenly leaves the form that he had hitherto imitated, and follows the dictates of his own fancy… The varnish is very varied. Sometimes it is of a rich golden colour, deliciously soft and transparent: in other instances he has used varnish of a deeper hue, which might be described as light red, the quality of which is also very beautiful. We find this varnish chiefly on those instruments where he has made his backs in two parts, and also on whole backs. The purfling is narrower than that afterwards used.'
This second period (1680–1698) is that of Stradivari's established reputation. The repute of Cremona for violins was European. Nicholas Amati had long been at the head of the trade: but he had in 1680 ceased to make violins, his workshop was broken up, and his son, the second Girolamo of the family, though a respectable maker, did not succeed to his father's position. From the moment when Stradivari opened his violin factory in 1680, the principal purchasers seem to have resorted to it: and in a year or two his fame was widely spread. Early in 1684 we find among his customers the Countess Cristina Visconti, and no less a person than the Grand Duke of Florence himself. For the former lady he made a viola da gamba 'alla gobba' (i.e. hunchbacked, the upper part of the flat back being sloped off) with violoncello scroll and soundholes. Stradivari, it is probable, was the first to effect this improvement in the viola da gamba. The Double Bass had long been made with violoncello soundholes (i.e. having contrary flexures), which were rendered necessary by the increased height of the model. Though we have none of Stradivari's violas da gamba, we have those of contemporary makers who followed his general models: and these are high in the belly, like the double-bass, have violoncello soundholes, and nearly approximate in their proportions to a reduced double-bass. For the Grand Duke of Tuscany he made a complete set (concerto) of instruments later in the same year. This concerto probably consisted of two or perhaps three violins, a contralto or small tenor (viola piccola a quattro corde), a tenore or large tenor (viola piu grande) and a violoncello. The designs for the cases of this concerto, drawn by Stradivari's hand, including the locks and fastenings, are numbered 30 in the Marquis Della Valle's collection, and are labelled thus, in Stradivari's autograph: 'Modelli fatti alle Casse del Concerto de instrumenti che mandati all' gran ducca di Fiorenza dell' Anno 1684 li 24 giugno.' The designs for the shields, which are surmounted by a ducal crown, with angels as supporters, are entitled also in the maker's autograph, 'Armi chi ho fatto per li istrumenti per il gran Principe di Toscana.' These autographs reveal some curious facts. One is, that Stradivari did not disdain to design and execute with his own hand the inlaid ornaments, fittings, and cases of his ​instruments. The ornaments of the numerous instruments which he sent out inlaid with ebony and ivory were designed and executed by himself, and when finished he made rubbings of them for future use. A parcel of these, labelled 'Disegni delli intagli fatti sulli Violini, Violoncelli,' etc., and consisting of rubbings from the sides of scrolls and from ribs, forms no. 29 in the Della Valle collection: and another parcel, consisting of cartridge paper models made for the metal locks and flap-staples for cases, is labelled 'Disegni e modelli di Serrature e cordini di Cassetto.' The collection also includes Stradivari's tools for impressing arabesques, 'Stampiti per arabeschi.' Another fact revealed by these autographs is that Stradivari spelt, and probably spoke, his native tongue very imperfectly. In the year 1687 Stradivari executed another order for an ornamented concerto of instruments. This concerto was made for the Spanish crown, and the violoncello is still in the possession of the King of Spain. The instruments were inlaid with ivory in the purfling, with intaglio work on the sides and scroll. A violin of this concerto, formerly belonging to Ole Bull, and afterwards in the collection of Mr. Charles Plowden, is engraved in Mr. Hart's book, plate 18. Mr. Hart describes this set of instruments as a 'quatuor,' but it probably consisted of at least five, like that of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, there being two violas, one a contralto, the other a tenor.
As Stradivari notes on some of his patterns that the instruments were made expressly to order ('alla posta,' or in some cases 'espressamente,') it may be inferred that he also kept up a stock for general sale. It seems that when he received an order for a new instrument from a customer of distinction, he would sometimes design an entirely new model, construct a wooden mould (forma) in accordance with the design, and make a complete set of working drawings, embracing the scroll, handle, soundholes, corners, bridge, and tailpiece. Each mould (a block of maple somewhat less than an inch in thickness, with spaces left in the outlines for the corner and top and bottom blocks), was carefully dated and marked with a letter or letters indicating the character of the pattern. The working drawings were marked with the same letters, and put away for future use. Thus a mould for a long tenor of the smaller pattern is dated 'A di 4 Ottobre 1690,' and marked CV. It is described, 'Forma nuova per il Contralto ossia Viola a quattro corde fatta alla posta per il Gran Principe di Toscana ossia di Firenze.' (Della Valle Collection, no. 2.) The working drawings are dated four days later, and labelled thus: '1690, 4$^o$ 8bre in Cremona, Antonio Stradivario. Misure p. li manici occhietti cantoni topette ponticelli e cordeli p. il Contraldo ossia Viola picola fatta espressamente p. il gran Principe della Toscana sulla forma CV.' Concurrently with this contralto Stradivari designed a large tenor on a similar principle: and it is not improbable that this contralto and tenor were members of a second complete concerto of instruments for which he had received an order. The drawings for the large tenor, dated the same day, are labelled thus: '1690 48bre in Cremona. Antonio Stradivario. Misure p. li manici occhietti cantoni e topette ponticelli tavolette e cordeli p. il Tenore ossia Viola piu grande fatta espressamente p. il gran Principe della Toscana sulla forma TV.' The lettering CV and TV on these moulds evidently means 'Contralto Viola' and 'Tenore Viola.' Probably the maker intended these patterns to be his standing models, his contralto and tenor violas par excellence. A separate drawing for the soundholes of the contralto is inscribed 'Musura giusta per il occhi dello contrato fat to alia posta per il Gran Principe di Toscana A di 4 Octob. 1690' (no. 18).
The Della Valle collection includes another tenor mould and no less than eleven violin moulds. One of the latter is marked 'SL' and dated 'A di 9 Nov. 1691' (no. 3). This is long and narrow: 'SL' probably stands for 'Stretto Lungo.' Another (no. 6) is marked 'B,' and dated '1692.' B probably stands for 'Basso,' or 'flat' model. This mould of the 'B' pattern was the maker's favourite. The surface of the mould is worn away with much use, and there is a memorandum that the maker used it for a violin as late as 1736, his 86th or 87th year. Another (no. 7) is also marked 'B,' and dated 'A di 3 Giugno 1692.' Two others (nos. 1 and 5) are dated several years later: the first is marked 'S' (stretto), and inscribed 'A di 20. 1703. Settembre'; the other marked 'P,' and dated 'A 25 Feb. 1705,' with the maker's name 'Antonio Stradivari,' is somewhat shorter and more confined in design than usual, and the 'P' evidently stands for 'Piccolo' (small pattern). Another violin mould is marked 'T' with no date (no. 4). There is also a mould for a child's violin with the blocks attached, accompanied by an exquisite drawing of the belly on cartridge paper.
These long and narrow moulds, dated after 1690, lead us to an innovation in the pattern peculiar to Stradivari among the classical makers. It was about this time that he began to make instruments of greater length, which the French call 'longuets,' and known in England as 'long Strads.' Mr. Hart says of these, 'We have a totally differently constructed instrument: it is less graceful, although there is no absence of the masterly hand throughout the work. It has received the title of "long Strad," not from increased length, as its name would imply, but from the appearance of additional length which its narrowness gives it, and which is particularly observable between the soundholes.' This excellent critic of violins here appears to fall into a slight confusion. These observations apply to the narrow violins made on the 'S' or 'Stretto' (narrow) moulds, of the normal length, but diminished breadth. These are less uncommon than the true 'long Strad' (Lungo), specimens of which the writer has seen; they are of the normal width or only a trifle under it, and at least a quarter of an inch longer than the normal length, this extra length being ​equally distributed on either side of the bridge. The neck requires to be lengthened in the same proportion; hence the stop becomes appreciably longer. The true long Strads' are remarkable for power of tone, but are for the above reason less easily handled: and hence the pattern never came into general use. Some, if not all of them, were probably made on the 'SL' (Stretto Lungo)(narrow long) mould of 1691: one very fine specimen, formerly in the possession of Lord Falmouth, is dated 1692. The 'SL' pattern was occasionally used by the maker in his mature years, but is less frequent after 1700.
The nineties were with Stradivari a decade of bold experiment in other respects. Sometimes he altered the curves of the back and belly; occasionally he innovated in the thicknesses, some of his experiments, as more than one purchaser of a handsome and unspoiled violin knows to his cost, being sufficiently unfortunate. He made some violins with bellies so thin that they are useless for the higher pitch and increased pressure of modern playing, and must either be fortified with new wood or laid on the shelf as curiosities. These various experiments enabled the maker to fix definitely the principles on which the fiddles of his third and best period (1698–1728) are designed.
This third period includes the greater part of the known instruments of Stradivari, and these are in all respects his best. The culminating point of his work may be fixed at the year 1714, which is the date of the celebrated 'Dolphin' Stradivari, once the property of M. Alard, afterwards of Mr. Adam. 'From about 1700,' writes Mr. Hart, p. 131, 'his instruments show to us much of what follows later. The outline is changed, but the curves blending into one another are beautiful in the extreme. The corners are treated differently. The wood used for the backs and sides is most handsome, having a broad curl. The scrolls are of bold conception, and finely executed.' It must be noted, however, that the differences of construction between this third and best period, and the preceding, are minute in the extreme. The modelling is much the same, the size and general design remain unaltered. Stradivari, in fact, kept the actual moulds (forme) of the preceding period constantly in use. It is true that he added new ones to his stock, e.g. that dated 1705 above mentioned. But it is obvious that his old 'B' (basso, flat) moulds were constantly in use: the majority of the violins of this last period seem to have been made from at most two or three moulds. The rapidity of his production was astonishing. In 1702, as we learn from the MSS. of Desiderio Arisi, he made two violins and a violoncello by order of the Governor of Cremona, to be sent as presents to the Duke of Alba. In 1707 the Marquis Desiderio Cleri sent by order of Charles III. of Spain a commission to Stradivari to make six violins, two tenors, and one violoncello for the royal orchestra. In the same year he made for the Countess Cristina Visconti a new viola da gamba alla gobba. The cartridge patterns for the neck of this he put away thus labelled: 'Musura del manico del Violoncello Ordinario, manicho della longezza della Viola della Signora Cristina Visconti fatta in 1707.' From this it would appear that he considered this viola da gamba neck equally adapted to the ordinary violoncello, from which it would follow that the body was of the size of an ordinary violoncello, or considerably larger than the ordinary viola da gamba. In 1716 he made new models for a violoncello (Della Valle Collection, no. 16), perhaps the same which in this year, according to the Arisi MSS., he made for the Duke of Modena. In the same year he made a twelve-stringed viola d'amore (six gut strings, and six wire strings), the pattern of which he inscribed 'Modelli della Viola d'Amore a 12 Corde fatti nell mese di Cienaio dell' anno Bisestile mdccxvi.' This is a choice specimen of Stradivari's spelling: by 'Cienaio' he means 'Gennaio,' or January. A choicer one still, in which the grammar rivals the spelling, is the inscription on the patterns of some instrument made for the Marquis Carbonelli: 'Qui dentro questi desingni che sono qui dentro sforati sono quelli che se fatto al Ill'mo. Sig. Marchese Carbonelli di Mantova' (Delia Valle Collection, no. 27). In 1720 Stradivari made a concerto of instruments (probably two violins, two tenors, and a violoncello), which he intended as a present for the King of Spain on the occasion of his passing through Cremona. He was dissuaded from executing this intention, and the instruments remained in his possession.
During this final period, 1700–1728, we find little variation in the general pattern and dimensions of Stradivari's instruments. He probably used only two or three moulds. Such variation as there is lies chiefly in the breadth, a few violins, probably made on the 'S' moulds, being narrower than the average. As a specimen of this, his best period, a beautiful violin dated ​1708, the property of Dr. William Huggins, F.R.S. has been selected for illustration.
From 1725 to 1730 (between the maker's 75th and 80th years) his instruments are generally supposed to deteriorate. There are certainly many bearing his name very different from those of the maker's prime. The model is somewhat higher, the result being less brilliancy in the tone: the scroll and the wood generally is heavier, the varnish is darker, and the work less finished. For the following equally artistic and scientific comparison of the violin of 1708 with one of 1726, which may be taken as fair specimens of the second and third periods respectively, the writer is indebted to the joint labours of Dr. Huggins, F.R.S., and Mrs. Huggins.
'The violin of 1708 weighs ¾ lb., that of 1726 1 lb. The fittings may have something to do with this difference; but the 1726 violin is heavier in itself. The violin of 1708 has higher sides and flatter curves in the belly and back than that of 1726. The general form of the 1708 violin is much more masterly than that of the 1726 one, which is rather "waspy" looking. The parts of the form of the 1708 violin are "brought thoroughly well together," as an artist would say; and it gives the idea of being at once larger and more powerful and at the same time more graceful than the 1726 instrument. As a matter of fact the two violins are of almost the same form and size, as they fit nicely into the same case. There can be no doubt, however, as to the artistic justice of the above observations, and the matter is an excellent illustration of how much form depends upon very delicate modifications of line—modifications which it will almost baffle even a trained eye to detect at any one point, but which in the aggregate tell at a glance. An art homologue occurs in delicate painting, where refined modifications of colour must be effected by touches which the painter can only feel he is laying on, but cannot see until, after a time, he becomes conscious of a subtle change of colour where he has been working.
'The purfling of the 1726 violin is much inferior to that of the 1708 one. The backs of both violins are in one piece, but the back wood of the 1726 one is small and insignificant in "curl" and in markings generally. The wood of the belly of the 1726 one is in two pieces.
'The tone of the 1726 violin is quite without the grandeur and brilliancy of that of 1708. There is no reserve of force about that of the 1726 one: the tone seems to come all at once, and very readily. It has much beauty, without having beauty of such commanding quality that at once one is led captive. It is almost all music, but not without just a trace of what is very noticeable in some early Stradivarius violins, viz. a certain confusion of utterance of any given note as if (to borrow the language of optics) the tone had not all "come to focus" perfectly. No deep many-sided nature could find complete satisfaction in the tone of the 1726 violin, its capacity for response to varying mental states is too limited.
'The ƒ-holes and the scroll in the 1708 violin are much more subtle and free in curve than those of the 1726 one. The subtlety of curve makes them of course interesting, for the interest of form depends largely upon the stimulating mysteriousness which arises when they vary from the simple curve. The freedom of the curve is also an important factor in the pleasure induced by the sight of a fine violin: such freedom conveying the idea of masterly ease, and the eye being carried on without the irritating checks occasioned by lines wanting in freedom. There is however freedom and freedom. The freedom of Stradivarius at his best is as the freedom of Gothic architecture, not as that of Classical, it impresses one as an expression of unfettered aspiration not of ordered repetition. The scroll of the 1708 violin would not go so well with the 1726 violin as its own scroll. Stradivarius seems to have been an artist gifted with rare powers of harmony as well as of melody in form; i.e. every part of his violins is always in perfect keeping with the rest. Upon the whole the form of the 1726 violin may be said to show a very considerable decadence from that of 1708.'
How far Stradivari is personally responsible for this decadence it is now impossible to say. The fashion of the period, preferring the Stainer model, perhaps demanded greater height in the belly and back, and greater massiveness in the wood: and it is certain that to some of these instruments he refused the direct authorisation of his name. In many instruments of this period the label of Stradivari is inserted; but in others of them a ticket appears, indicating, as the fact is, that these violins were made under his general direction by other hands ('sub disciplina Antonii Stradiuarii, Cremonae, 17,' in very small type). The workmanship of these instruments is generally attributable to his sons Omobono and Francesco. Occasionally, however, we have a genuine product of the great master's old age, such as the fine violin belonging to Mr. Wiener, dated 1732, 'de Anni 82.' The productivity of Stradivari in the latter half of his life has been mentioned. There cannot be much less than a thousand of his instruments, most of them of this period, still existing, and of the ordinary kind—violins, tenors, and basses. Some have disappeared: e.g. we know that he made many violas da gamba, though none of them, so far as the writer knows, are in existence. We know that he also made a great number of kits, guitars, lutes, theorbos, lyres, and mandolins, which having become curiosities, are not frequently in the channel of trade. For all these instruments he made fittings and cases. On the fittings he bestowed peculiar pains. The Della Valle collection contains several of his tailpieces which were never used. These are of maple, carefully proportioned, of an oblong shape, and finely finished. They are apparently made out of blocks of wood similar to fingerboards. ​His fingerboards were also of maple, and were sometimes handsomely inlaid. Some specimens of his fittings, removed from the instruments by Vuillaume and Gand, were presented by them to the Museum of the Paris Conservatoire, where they may still be seen (nos. 6, 10, 114, 115).
In another important detail of the violin, the bridge, Stradivari effected the final improvement: and it may be said that he has a monument in every violin bridge in the world. Before the Amatis, the bridge had been cut almost at haphazard. The Amatis reduced it to something approaching the present normal form (see the engravings in Fétis, Antoine Stradivari, p. 95), but Stradivari made the final alteration. This consisted in abandoning, for the lower half of the bridge, the principle of the arch, and substituting for it a firm bar resting on a foot near each end. The upper part of the bridge is an arch, formed by the 'heart' or central hole; and by means of the massive bar below, the vibrations excited by the strings in this arched upper part are regulated, and transmitted by the feet to the body of the instrument. Slight as the improvement seems, it was a great discovery: and since his time the form of the bridge has never been changed. [See Bridge.] So important is the bridge to the violin, that had Stradivari effected nothing else, this would have been sufficient to make him famous. Another great service which he rendered to violin-making consisted infixing the exact shape of the soundholes and their relation to the corner blocks. Fortunately we have preserved in the Della Valle collection (no. 25), in the great maker's own autograph, his rule for placing the soundholes. It is inscribed 'Regola per collocare le ff delli Violini, Viole, Violoncelli.' The explanation of this is, that it was one of the fixed principles of Stradivari, in which he differed from his predecessors, that the same laws governed the proportions of all members of the violin family, as distinguished from the viol family, which includes the viola da gamba and double-bass, and is governed by other proportions. The diagram is adapted to the mould 'P,' which, as noted above, indicates 'Piccolo' or 'small pattern,' and was made on Feb. 25, 1705.
This diagram affords an interesting problem to students of the mechanism of the violin. Whatever the rule may be, the sound-holes of Stradivari are all traced in accordance with it. The writer has his own solution of the problem, but it would be out of place in the present article.
The fine tone and the lasting wear of Stradivari's instruments undoubtedly depend on the thoroughness with which the mechanical part of the work is executed. A good violin is like a good watch: all its 'works' must be of perfect materials, and accurately put together. Nothing could be more perfect than the internal finish of the violins of Stradivari. The wood selected is solid, sound, and sonorous. The pine is of the best quality from Switzerland and the Trentino: the thicknesses and the lines of the pattern are all determined with scientific accuracy: the inner framework, consisting of the blocks and linings, is of willow from the banks of the Po about Cremona. It is solidly constructed, and the bridge and soundholes are so arranged as to produce by its aid a powerful vibration of the belly under the strings. The external finish equally exhibits marks of high mechanical excellence. The purfling is executed with a precision which cannot be appreciated without a magnifying glass. The lines are admirably firm and perfect, and fully display that mastery of curves in which Stradivari was preeminent. And here may be noticed a singular freak in which the great maker occasionally indulged. Instead of cutting the several outlines of the fiddle and those of the scroll and soundholes to the usual curves, Stradivari in some instances made these outlines polygonal, being composed of a series of short straight lines. The purfling follows the polygonal outline, and is also polygonal. It is hard to see what motive he can have had in producing these singular instruments, except to show his extraordinary skill as a purfler. Viewed from a certain distance, these instruments exhibit the ordinary appearance. The Marquis Delia Valle has a viola, and Mr. Vonwiller, a violin, of this peculiar pattern.
The varnish used by Stradivari in his earlier years is similar to that of Nicholas Amati, in texture and in the method of applying it. In colour there is this difference, that Stradivari avoids the favourite brownish tint of Amati, and generally employs a more or less pronounced yellow. It is oil varnish of a soft and penetrating nature, apparently permeating the wood to some depth beneath the surface, so that when the body of the varnish is worn off the colour and substance appear to remain. After 1684 he began to use a thicker and more lustrous varnish of a reddish tint; and this colour he ultimately employed to the exclusion of others. The staring effect of the red tint on the back of the fiddle seems to have suggested to Stradivari the device of 'breaking up' the varnish on the back, thus imitating the effect of wear. When employed by a skilful workman this device lends great additional beauty to the work in the connoisseur's eye: and the example has been generally followed. 'Breaking-up' is a peculiar and difficult branch of the varnisher's art. Many good makers have failed in it: next to Stradivari, Vuillaume succeeded best. In the instruments of his latest years Stradivari sometimes reverted to the brown ​tint which was fashionable in his youth. These may have been varnished by his son, whose instruments generally exhibit this brown colour. Stradivari occasionally gave his finest instruments several coats of fine pure oil varnish, polishing each coat as soon as dry. Sometimes, however, the coats are fewer and thinner, and the writer has seen an instrument sent forth into the world by the great maker with the size barely covered. Perhaps the customer could not wait for the varnishing. As a rule, however, the Stradivari instruments are remarkable for excellence of varnish. It is a fact not very generally known that Stradivari occasionally varnished his instruments with spirit-varnish. This is much more easily applied and dries more quickly than oil varnish, and from the very general employment of it in the middle of the last century, it would seem that most violin-makers hailed its discovery as a boon. The better class of makers tried it and abandoned it, discovering probably that it did not answer so well in the end, though cheaper, and more easily applied.
Though Stradivari, as has been observed, made instruments of all sorts, his fame rests on those of the violin tribe, i.e. violins, violas and violon-cellos. A few of his kits exist: a fine specimen is in the Museum of the Paris Conservatoire (no. 61). It is of large size, and belongs to the best period, being dated 1717. Clapisson, who purchased it in 1858, introduced in his comic opera 'Les trois Nicolas' a gavotte specially written for this instrument, the solo part in which was played by Croisilles, and produced a singularly brilliant effect. A remarkably fine mandolin with a carved head, formerly the property of J. B. Vuillaume, still exists in Paris. A beautiful guitar of his make, dated 1680, was in this country in 1881. The rose of the guitar being filled with a mass of delicate tracery, in the style of a circular flamboyant window, the inside is not open to view, and the maker therefore cut his name with the knife on the back of the peg-box.
His larger instruments of the violin tribe (violas and violoncellos) are liable to the charge of being merely magnified fiddles. In this respect Stradivari set an example which was followed by other makers. However correct in theory, it is commonly considered that as regards the viola this principle is a failure; for violas of older models have a better effect in a quartet than those of Stradivari. The tone is rich and 'thick,' but deficient in liquidity: this character is evidently the result of shallowness in the ribs, and consequent shortness in the soundpost. We have, however, little opportunity of judging of the effect of Stradivari's large violas, most of which have been cut down to the size of the contralto. Stradivari's theory broke down conspicuously when he applied it to the violoncello. The violoncello absolutely requires a greater height in the ribs, in proportion to the length, than the violin. Stradivari, in endeavouring to reduce the violoncello in this respect to the proportions of the violin, sometimes made instruments which are very defective in tone, and can only be cured by increasing the height of the ribs. The violoncellos are of two sizes, and the larger is now as scarce as the large violas. The celebrated bass of Servais, now belonging to M. Servais, jun., is a rare specimen. Those of Signore Piatti and Herr Hausmann should also be mentioned. The smaller basses are too narrow, and their tone is thin, approaching that of the viola da gamba. The violoncello of the younger Duport, now in the possession of M. Franchomme, is of this small pattern. These smaller instruments are easier to handle, and are on that account preferred by some players. The larger ones have a much finer tone. These larger basses were originally constructed for use in the concerto, whether 'da chiesa' or 'da camera,' the narrower ones being appropriated to solo music.
Double-basses of Stradivari are rare; and there are probably at present none in this country. Dragonetti had one, but it does not appear to have been his favourite instrument. Count Ludovico Melzi has a fine specimen, of high model, and very broad. The lower angles of the middle bouts are rounded off, apparently to avoid injury.
The fine tone of the Stradivari violins testifies to the substantial value of the improvements which he effected in the pattern. It is invariably bright, sweet, full and equable. It is also easily yielded, or, in the common phrase, 'comes out' freely under the bow. Nicholas Amati, and the earlier Guarnieris, produced instruments which charm by their softness rather than by their power: in Joseph Guarnieri everything yields to sonority and depth. But against all other violins, a good Stradivari bears off the palm for general excellence of tone, as well as for beauty and durability: and all succeeding generations of fiddle-makers have acknowledged the excellence of the Stradivari model by copying it. The majority of the violins made during the last century and a half, of all sorts, from the best productions of Lupot, Fendt, Pressenda, and Vuillaume, down to the common fiddles of Mirecourt and Neukirchen, manufactured by the gross and sold for a few shillings, are Stradivari copies. The most accomplished maker can invent nothing better: the dullest workman ​cannot fail to make a tolerable fiddle, if he follows his model as well as he can. But there is a great gulf between the master and the best of his imitators. No man who ever lived, during this century and a half, has been able to make a fiddle which could possibly be mistaken by a practised eye for the work of Stradivari.
Of the person of Stradivari we have some traditional notices. According to Fétis, Polledro, first violin in the royal orchestra at Turin, to whose encouragement we owe the fine productions of Pressenda, used to say that his master had known Stradivari, and was fond of talking about him. Polledro's master was Pugnani, born in 1727, ten years only before Stradivari's death, and he could therefore only have seen him as a child. According to him Stradivari was tall and thin. He usually wore a white woollen cap in winter, and a cotton one in summer; over his clothes, while at work, he wore a white leather apron: and as he was always at work his costume varied but little. He had acquired more than a competence by labour and frugality; and it was a proverb in Cremona, 'Ricco come Stradivari' (Rich as Stradivari). The superior position in life taken by his descendants bears this out. La Houssaie, the celebrated French violinist (born 1735), whom Fétis knew in youth, and who visited Cremona a few years after the death of Stradivari, told Fétis that the price at which Stradivari sold his violins was four louis d'or each—a sum which would probably have purchased as much in Cremona a hundred and sixty years ago as ten times that amount now. Cervetto, an Italian musician in London in the last century, is said to have received a consignment of Stradivari violins for sale, but to have returned them, not being able to dispose of them for the price asked, which was £4 a-piece. The story is probable enough, for though the 'Cremona' violin was popular in London in the last century, we find in English literature of that period no trace of the name of Stradivari.
Though fiddle-making is an art which runs in families, it is certain that the best makers are the most original, and that the most original makers are those who did not inherit their trade; Stradivari, Stainer, Forster, Pressenda, and Benjamin Banks, are prominent instances. Only one of the two fiddle-making sons of Stradivari, Francesco and Omobono, inherited any of the father's ability, and this was Francesco. He made excellent violins, which are easily distinguishable from the work of the father. 'The outline,' says Mr. Hart ('The Violin,' p. 136), 'is rugged, the modelling distinct, the scroll a ponderous piece of carving, quite foreign to Stradivarius the elder, and the varnish, though good, is totally different from the superb coats found on the father's works of late date.… The design is bold and original, the soundhole is quite unlike that of Antonius; the tone of Franciscus's instruments is invariably very rich and telling.' Francesco and Omobono were both elderly men when their father died, and survived him but a few years. Omobono, the younger, died in 1742; Francesco in 1743. In 1746, Paolo, the youngest son and heir of Stradivari, let the house in the Piazza San Domenico to Carlo Bergonzi and his son Michael. Carlo died in 1747: Michael continued to occupy the house until 1758.
The relics of Stradivari's workshop, his moulds, patterns, tools, and memoranda, were carefully preserved by his family for nearly thirty years. In 1776 they were sold by Paolo Stradivari and his son Antonio to Count Alessandro Cozio di Casale Monferrato, an enthusiastic collector of violins, and once the owner of a celebrated matchless Amati. These relics, together with the original correspondence and memorandums of assignment, are now in the possession of a Piedmontese nobleman, the Marquis Rolando Della Valle. In 1777 Paolo and Antonio Stradivari disposed of the house in the Piazza San Domenico to the brothers Ancina. In 1801 it was sold to one Rocco Bono, a wine-cooper; in 1853 it passed into the hands of Giuseppe Vigani; in 1862 it was sold to Gaetano D'Orleans, a woollen-draper. From 1786 to 1862 it bore the anagraph 1239; from 1862 to 1870 it was known as No. 2 Piazza San Domenico; and since 1870 as No. 1 Piazza Roma. When the writer inspected it in 1881 it was unoccupied.
The descendants of Paolo Stradivari continued to live and flourish at Cremona. His grandson Cesare Stradivari was a celebrated obstetric physician, who is still remembered by the Cremonese. When the writer commenced his enquiries at Cremona concerning Stradivari, he was informed that Stradivari was an eminent physician: Stradivari the violin-maker was completely forgotten. Two representatives of the family still reside in the city: to one of these, Sig. Dottore Enrico Stradivari, the writer was indebted for much courtesy, and for a copy of the privately-printed pamphlet, by the priest Paolo Lombardini, from which the genealogical information contained in the present article is derived. Another branch of the family is settled in Milan. It may be observed in passing, that most of the names of the famous violin-makers of Cremona, except the Amatis, are still to be found among its citizens. The Guarnieris, Ruggieris, and Bergonzis abound; but the Amatis have utterly died out, their sole memorial being the tombstone of one 'Mastinus de Amatis,' in the floor of the transept of the Duomo. These representatives of the old makers, like the Stradivaris, have taken to other occupations: the sole representative of the old craft is Ceruti, who still makes violins in the Via Longacqua, and another violin-maker, even less known to fame, to whom the writer was directed, but whom he found engaged in finishing a barrel-organ. The Cremonese are barely aware that their town was once famous for its violins, and it was with some difficulty that a local amateur recently induced the municipality to confer the names of Cremona's two most famous makers on two streets leading ​westward out of the Piazza Roma. One of these streets now bears the name of the 'Via Guarnieri,' the other that of 'Corso Stradivari.'
Fétis has well observed that tho violins of Stradivari are equally remarkable for their extraordinary excellence and their extraordinary number. Their solid and durable construction, their admirable varnish, the considerable price paid for them in the first instance, and the consequent care exercised in keeping them, have all contributed to their preservation: and it is probable that most of them are still in existence. Their number is legion: they are always in the market, and always command good prices. Since the middle of the last century, they have been the favourite instruments of violinists. Up to that time, Stainer had been the favourite maker. Veracini used a pair of Stainer violins: that of Tartini, which was shown in the Milan Exhibition of 1881, was a large yellow Stainer, of rare excellence. Stradivari's instruments soon ousted the Stainers from their position, and revived throughout the musical world the traditional reputation of Cremona. Pugnani, Salomon, Lafont, Viotti, Baillot, Habeneck, Rode, Spohr, Ernst, used them. Nor, in spite of the rivalry of Joseph Guarnerius, has there been any sign of their going out of fashion. In our own time, Joachim uses a pair of fine Stradivaris, both of the best period, one red, the other yellow: Sarasate, Wilhelmi, Madame Norman-Neruda, Straus, Marsick, Ludwig, Kummer, Wiener, and most of our leading violinists, play on this maker's instruments. It is evident from this continued popularity that players find them the most effective, for it is impossible to suppose that they would expend the considerable sums which have to be paid for them, if they could produce an equal effect with cheaper instruments.
On this point the opinion of the most eminent among living players will be read with interest. Dr. Joachim, after perusing the proofs of this article, has most kindly communicated to the writer, to be incorporated with it, a few words on the tone of Stradivari's violins. He considers them as mines of musical sound, which the player must dig into, as it were, in order to develope their treasures, and attributes to them a peculiar responsiveness, enabling the earnest player to place himself completely en rapport with his instrument—a relation which, as Dr. Joachim's audiences are well aware, is with him no matter of fancy, but of fact. After some preliminary observations, he continues: 'While the violins of Maggini are remarkable for volume of tone, and those of Amati for liquidity, none of the celebrated makers exhibit the union of sweetness and power in so preeminent a degree as Giuseppe Guarnieri (del Gesù) and Antonio Stradivari. If I am to give expression to my individual feeling, I must pronounce for the latter as my chosen favourite. It is true that in brilliancy and clearness, and even in liquidity, Guarnieri in his best instruments is not surpassed by him: but what appears to me peculiar to the tone of Stradivari is a more unlimited capacity for expressing the most varied accents of feeling. It seems to well forth like a spring, and to be capable of infinite modification under the bow. Stradivari's violins, affording a strong resistance to the bow, when resistance is desired, and yet responding to its lightest breath, emphatically require that the player's ear shall patiently listen until it catches the secret of drawing out their tone. Their beauty of tone is not so easily reached as in the case of many other makers. Their vibrations increase in warmth, the more the player, discovering their richness and variety, seeks from the instrument a sympathetic echo of his own emotions: so much so that they seem to be living beings, and become as it were the player's personal familiars—as if Stradivari had breathed a soul into them, in a manner achieved by no other master. It is this which stamps them as creations of an artistic mind, as positive works of art.'
[ E. J. P. ]
* ↑ Until his latest years (1730–1736) the name is spelt on the labels with a cursive v (u), 'Stradiuarius,' whence the vulgar English pronunciation 'Straduarius.' On the labels of the latest years the name is spelt with a Roman v. Francesco, the son, used the Roman v.
* ↑ In the books anterior to Fétis, the date of birth is given as 1664. Fétis altered the date to 1644, on the authority of a MS. inventory of property belonging to Count Cozio de Salabue, which had been deposited with Carli, a banker at Milan. One item in this inventory is stated to be a violin of Stradivari, having an autograph ticket, giving the maker's name, his age (92 years), and the date (1736). Fétis had never seen this instrument: and it is evident there had been some error in reading or copying the figures. Mr. Wiener has a genuine dated violin, and the ticket has the following inscription Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1732.' Below, in the maker's autograph, is plainly written 'de Anni 82.' It clearly follows from this that Stradivari was born in 1649 or 1650. Mr. W. E. Hill, to whom the writer owes the suggestion of the true date of birth, states that in the course of business he has seen other dated violins which confirm the above conclusion.
* ↑ He was then aged 88: about the same age as that attained by Stradivari.
* ↑ The paper models of this instrument are in the Marquis Della Valle's collection. They are numbered 26 and inscribed '1684, 23 Feb. Ant$^o$. Stradivari. Modelli della Viola da Gamba alla gobba fatta p. la S$^{ra}$ Cont$^a$ Cristina Visconti col ricchio e li occhietti da Violoncello.'
* ↑ The supposed autograph letter of Stradivari, a facsimile of which forms the frontispiece to the work of M. Fétis. is apparently a forgery.
* ↑ This is apparently the result of their being made in the same mould.
* ↑ The Museum of the Paris Conservatoire contains a beautiful fragment of the head of a viola da gamba of Stradivari (No. 111).
* ↑ For a facsimile of this interesting inscription the writer is indebted to Mr. Arthur Hill, of the firm of Hill & Sons, Wardour Street.
* ↑ Sig. Lombardini says Stradivari made 'una infinita di violini, alquanti contrabassi, molti violoncelli, viole, chitarre, liutt e mandorle.'
* ↑ Fétis, A. Stradivari, p. 76.
* ↑ 'Gefühls-accente.' Dr. Joachim uses the term in the technical sense, signifying that peculiar touch and pressure of the bow and finger which the character of the music requires. Baillot enumerates no less than thirty different 'accents,' which he divides into four classes: 1, The simple and naive; 2, The vague and Indecisive; 3, the passionate and dramatic; 4, the calm and religious. It is an interesting confirmation of Dr. Joachim's opinion that Paganini's Joseph Guarnerius violin is fitted with a very light bridge, having no 'heart' or central hole, and extremely small and slender feet. This great player evidently found it impossible to obtain the requisite delicacy of tone in this instrument with an ordinary bridge, and therefore had to sacrifice power to expression.
* ↑ E.g. the magnificent collection of a well-known amateur resident at Blackheath, recently dispersed, included nine Stradivari violins, all of the very highest class, as well as a fine Stradivari alto and small violoncello, besides four splendid violins of Joseph Guaruerius, and many other treasures of equal value.
* ↑ The writer desires to acknowledge the assistance he has derived In preparing the above article, from the members of the firm of W. B. Hill & Sons, and from Mr. George Hart, both of Wardour Street.