Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-02-12
THE CRITIC TALKS
TO MUSIC LOVERS

Nsf.
Ss This article Is written In respO9bIs ~ tbs
10 = nurnSPefTT nuSfTr Of imTsfc TsgpeSiEs iEspI2troR.i
r ruGI TARIsIo. who was really the
IL nrs, man In the world to appreciate
n.,oious nrS. yiolins, violas and cellos
toe mn I'M, 20 gt raL Crernona makers, anu
Dly 0ao;,htless did more than any otner
VIZ VIZ nerson to find these wonoerlui m
ootrpnoents and to make tne Worlu oi
music familiar with the,r naddIer HE'S, Of origin
Iuh, nbsc,,re that even today the date anq
.,o ~ ce of his birth Is not definitely known'
Iio,yeyer, the astute Luigi mad quail
,i.a other than those OF pure Gonhois-
serrship Back IN his head iay tne
se.i,1ngs Of n modern captain OF IN
un,,strw" as will be seen later rom the
,rannor in which he achieved the thngs
rhioh he sought, as well as the Iarge
Tfor that day and country io''u'ie
Inst what first led Luigi Tarisio TO
s.'.otc Me whole life to the study OF the
nasterpieces of vlolin-making Is not
unown, as In fact there is virtually
nothing known OF MS early ysars, I tte,. h1
iike most of his countrymen, no matter
.,Sat Inn their economic condition In life
,,,nv he had an intense love for music
and began the study OF the V,oiin as an
nmatcu. perIorm:r. But inc llklnB on
ths music the instrument produced soon
vot hopelessy tangled UP with the art
90 making the violin. and there Is every
rsason to believe that he never played
ovcsnt to test the tone of an instrument
In this however, the worid was propap,y
-ha rainer as It is doubtful IL he would
mo Oprn as successful as a performer
nS he was as collector and connois-
sour.
TIE MUST have been born somewhere
IL around the year 1900. At that time
pi, m 1iApl and worked until
ba was more than niDety-three years OF
age, was just entering the greatest
pCriod OF his long creative career and
was then turning out some of the mar
yelous viOlins which Tarisio was to dis
cover years later. But many OF the
great Cremona makers had finished their
earthly work and their finest Instruments
we're scattered all over Italy, no one
knowing their value, nor caring anything
itout them
Paris was the great violin center at
taat time, with London second, and in
'hcsc markets the Stainer violins and
rIosc Of his followers were considered
n, finest, and the Italian violins were
virtually not known at all.
Just when and how Tarisio got his in
pp.ratiUu regarding the Italian and
especially the Cremona violins, Is also
Unknown, but his big thought came when
he realized. first, that these instruments
we're the finest that had ever been made,
and second that there must be hun
dreds If not thousands, of them scat
tered through Italy in the hands OF peas
ants who did not realize their value any
more than did the professional musicians
Of that day. He decided to make trip
Ind see what he could find.
CCORD1NGLY, he abandoned his
"A trade as a carpenter and became n
paddler Ostcnsibly he dealt in small
household articles, but In reality he was
after fine violins and nothing else. The
policy he pursued In getting them showed
that he possessed the commercial as well
as the artistic instinct.
In his pack he invariably had n lot
Of new highly polished and shining vio-
Inns naturally of the cheapest and most
Indifferent make, but all strung up and
ready to be played upon. These instru-
ments he would offer TO exchange for
the Cremona violins in the hands of the
italian peasants, many of them with
only string or two and often in bad
state of repair
Ninctv-nine times out of hundred the
peasant bit" and Luigi came away with
n fine Strad, Amati or Guarnerius, as
the case might be, leaving both bargain
ers in an eminently satisfactory state of
mind Indeed, there are stories told in
which the Italian countrymen were so
well pleased with the new fiddles that
they carried the news to their friends,
who also had old Italian violins Az far
as can be ascertained those friends
never had any trouble in obtaining one
Of LuiGiS shining new fiddles In eX-
change for n Cremona.
IT'S humble occupation gave him ac-
iA cess TO places to which an ordinary
collector would have been denied admis-
sion, This was especially true of the
FaCrIateS and monaSterics of Italy,
where. II must be regrcttully ChronlClcd,
hr got many rare Italian violin for one
Of his cheap new ones. Luigi was prob
ably good ChurChman, but y" was after
true captain of industry. he let moth
Ing interfere withS'is plans. He probably
thought that If the reverend fathers
were satisfied with the new ttddle ana
liked 1t enough to give up an instrument
worth (now) $4,000 or 10000 lire apiece,
he should worry At any rate. the fact
remains that Tarisio made some of his
greatest finds in the monasteries.
For about twenty years this remark
able man wandered up and down in
Italy, finding rare instruments on every
Journey. Then he took some Of them.
not tho best. however, to Paris to see
what he could do in selling them, The
great violin dealers OF Paris and, after
'Ne little Italian voddler the greatest eX-
pvt on vlolins In the world, and lie soon
HmaSSod a large fortune.
But he did not give up his collecting.
vs. hr got moro money ne spent ETscl
tgmS for the Instruments hc wanted and
rs ho put them on the market and their
merits were realized the demand for the
Italian Instruments grew until the sup
Vly was no longer adequate to meet 1t.
TARISIO'S death was tragic. He had
bought farm in one of the Italian
Provinces, but retained an attic room
over restaurant In Milan. Here he was
found dead one day In 1854, and in tn"
room were more than 900 of the finest
Niolins, viOlas and CelloS In the world.
They We're eventually bought from the
heirs by j. b. Nuillaume, one of the best
French violin makers, and disposed of
by him to musicians and collectors, for
this pest of the violin world, who by
Offering high prices keeps fine volins
away from competent artists, had al
ready made his appearance.
but u vas known that at least one
wonderful violin was not in the ColeC
1ipu found in Tarislo'S room after his
death. For years Tarislo had been tell
ing the dealers Of II marvellous Strad
Whch h1l never been played on and
winch Il had left the hands Of the great
lnak"r, He told every one about this
instrument ana promised its advent some
oaN IN consequence of which It had
gained the name of the Messiah"
, TINS instrument was not found with
The Others nor were one or two other
Nolius Of which he had frequently
spoken y search was instituted and the
,MCSslah," the" Dolphin" so called rom
Us ir.drsc"nt v9rnissh the violin later to
pc NoWn as tho "Alard," which many
L"1i' Y" TO be the finest Strud ever made
EWd two other marvellous violina were
}ouhd on the provincial farm of the col
!esclor, where he had evidently taken
Srv.h r, TO EI0at over his treasures, as they
were equally safe or unsafe from either
nlDpng Nr,t1