The uurpaed master of violin making, Antonio Stradivari is aumed to have been born in Cremona and was probably a pupil of Nicolo Amati, although there is no documented proof of their coection. Stradivari\'s early itruments, made between 1666 (the date of his first known violin) and 1680, are Amatise in aearance. The begiings of a departure in style are seen during the 1680s, but it was from 1690 that he turned definitely in a new direction, making bolder itruments on a \'long pattern.\' The finest Stradivari itruments were made between 1700 and about 1720 (the \'golden period\'). These include the \'Betts,\' \'Alard\' and \'Meiah\' violi. Stradivari also developed the cello form over his career, making progreively smaller itruments. The most succeful pattern was his B form, used for masterpieces such as the \'Duport\' and the \'Davidov.\' The few surviving Stradivari violas are fine examples made on both tenor and contralto models. Stradivari was aisted by two of his so, Francesco and Omobono, but aears to have remained an active force in his workshop until his death in 1737. For some 200 years, Antonio Stradivari has been recognised as the greatest violin maker of all. His developments in violin design, combined with excellent workmanship and superb materials, produced instruments that, both tonally and aesthetically, have never been surpassed. His career spanned 71 years, and with the help of at least two of his two sons, Francesco and Omobono, he produced close to a thousand instruments, of which around 650 survive today. Stradivari was born in or around Cremona in about 1644. He has traditionally been thought to have been a pupil of Nicolo Amati, a claim that appears on his earliest known label, dated 1666. Recent research suggests, however, that his association with Amati may have been less formal, and he is not mentioned in the census records listing the inhabitants of the Amati household. Another possibility is that he was trained as a wood carver, and may have been employed by Amati to decorate the \'Youssoupoff\' violin of 1656. From 1667 to 1680 he lived in the \'Casa Nuziale,\' which was owned by the woodcarver Francesco Pescaroli, and the possibility that he was employed by Pescaroli would explain the rarity of instruments from this first period of his working life. Stradivari moved to Cremona\'s Piazza San Domenico in 1680, and from this point his work became more consistent and more prolific. Over the next 20 years he gradually moved away from Amati\'s influence, at first making violins based on Amati\'s model but slightly more robust in conception, and then experimenting with an entirely new form - the \'Long Pattern\' of the 1690s. This was no doubt an attempt to match the richness of tone that the Brescian makers of the 16th and 17th centuries had achieved. It was in 1699 that Stradivari finally found the ideal model for which he had been searching, and the \'Lady Tennant\' is an early example of Stradivari\'s so-called \'Golden Period.\' This period saw Stradivari at the height of his powers, making instruments that are characterised by an increased breadth of model and flatness of arch, combined with magnificently flamed maple backs, and the glorious red varnish that is one of the trademarks of his best work. The pinnacle of Stradivari\'s career was the period 1709- 1717. Both Stradivari\'s sons, Francesco and Omobono, were active in their father\'s workshop from around 1700, although Omobono was often away from Cremona on other business. Their father\'s influence was so strong, however, that their involvement is largely undetectable before about 1720. A recently \'discovered\' third son, Giovanni Battista Martino, who died in 1727, may well have been active in the workshop during the Golden Period, and may therefore have been involved in the production of some of Stradivari\'s greatest instruments.From about 1729 we see another change of design, and the instruments made between then and Stradivari\'s death in 1737 tend to have a fuller arch and rather less spectacular wood, but are equally popular with players.Stradivari\'s violas are extremely rare, and only about eleven are thought to exist. These are almost all built on a contralto model of around 40cm in length. The only exception to this is the \'Medici\' viola of 1690, which has a back length of 47.6cm, and is the only entirely unaltered Stradivari in existence today, retaining its original neck, fingerboard and bass bar. Cello design also benefited from Stradivari\'s thirst for new ideas. His early instruments were originally of the large dimensions prevalent in the late 17th century, and most have subsequently been reduced in size, but in about 1707 he began to develop a new cello model known as \'forma B.\' Stradivari\'s forma B cellos enjoy the same status as the violins of his Golden Period, and are rivalled only by those of Montagnana. Only about 20 cellos of this type survive. In his final years Stradivari developed two new cello models. One is narrower than the forma B and the other is smaller and squarer. (excerpted from Four Centuries of Violin Making by Tim Ingles.)
Stradivari,Antonio
