Stradivarius Violin and Its Story

Three centuries have passed since the death of the great Italian strings of the master Antonio Stradivari, and the secret of making his instruments has not been uncovered. The sound of his violins, like the singing of an angel, lifts the listener to the skies.

Youth Stradivarius

As a child, Antonio tried to express in his voice what was hidden in his heart, but the boy did not turn out well, and people just mocked him. Strange child always carried a small penknife with which he carved various wooden figures. The boy's parents wished him a cabinetry career. At the age of eleven, Stradivari learned that in his hometown of Cremona lived the famous Nicolo Amati, who was considered the best master of violin works in all of Italy. Antonio loved music, so the choice of profession was obvious. The boy became a student of Amati.

Carier start

In 1655, Stradivari was only one of the many disciples of the master. Initially, his job was to deliver messages to the milkman, the butcher and the suppliers of the tree. The teacher, of course, shared his secrets with the boys, but the most important, thanks to which the violin had a unique sound, told only his eldest son, because it was, in fact, a family craft. The first serious thing for young Stradivarius was the production of strings, which he made from veins of lambs, the best ones were obtained from 7-8 month old animals. The next secret was the quality and sort of the tree. The most suitable tree for making the upper part of the violin was considered to be the firs that grew up in the Swiss Alps, the lower part was made of maple. Stradivari's first violin was created by him at the age of 22. Antonio carefully honed his skills with each new instrument, but still worked in someone else's workshop.

Short-lived happiness

Stradivari opened his business only at the age of 40, but Stradivari's violin was still akin to the instruments of his teacher. At the same age, he married Francesca Verbrabochi, she gave him five children. But the master's happiness was short-lived, because the plague came to their city. The wife and all five children were sick and died. Even the Stradivarius' violin was no longer pleasing, from desperation he almost did not play and did not make instruments.

Back to life

After the epidemic, one of his students knocked at the house of Antonio Stradivari with sad news. The boy's parents died, and he could not learn from the master because of a lack of funds. Antonio took pity on the young man and took him to his house, later adopting. Again Stradivari felt the taste of life, he wanted to create something extraordinary. Antonio decided to create unique, dissimilar to others in sounding violins. The master's dreams came true only at the age of sixty. Stradivari's violin had a flying unearthly sound, which no one can reproduce till now.

Legends

Mysteriousness and unearthly beauty of the violin master's sound generated all sorts of gossip, it was said that the old man sold the soul to the devil, and he creates instruments from the wreckage of Noah's Ark. Although the reason was completely different: incredible diligence and love for their creations.

The cost of an unusual instrument

Violin Stradivarius, whose price in the lifetime of the master was 166 Cremona lira (about 700 US dollars), now it costs about 5 million dollars. If you look from the point of view of value for art, then the works of the master are invaluable.

How many Stradivari violins are left on the planet

Antonio was an incredible workaholic, the genius worked tools until his death at age 93. Stradivari created up to 25 violin instruments a year. Modern best masters do not manually produce more than 3-4 pieces. The maestro made about 2500 violins, violas, cellos, but to this day only 630-650 instruments have remained, most of them violins.