Antonio Stradivari was born in Cremona, Italy in 1644. The violin-making tradition was already more than 100 years old when he was born.
No city was more renowned for its musical instruments than Cremona. It was also the home of the Amati family, whose crafting of string instruments from the mid-16th century had set the international standard for beauty of sound.
Stradivari served as an apprentice to Nicolo Amati from about the age of 12. In his early years Stradivari probably worked more on such plucked instruments as guitars, harps and lutes.
In 1666 Stradivari began putting his own label, with his Latin name, Stradivarius, on the violins he made. His early instruments were in the style of his teacher, Nicolo Amati, small and with a yellowish varnish.
Stradivari purchased a house now known as No. 1 Piazza Roma (formerly No. 2 Piazza San Domenico) around 1680 for the sum of 7000 lire. The residence was just doors away from those of several other violin-making families of Cremona, including the Amatis . Stradivari probably worked in the loft and attic, and he stayed in this house for the rest of his life.
By 1682, Stradivari had acquired at least a small, yet growing, reputation and that year, a Venetian banker ordered a complete set of instruments, which he planned to present to King James II of England.
After Nicolo Amati's death in 1684, Stradivari began a pronounced departure from this earlier style of instrument-making, changing two key elements of his instruments. By 1690 he'd developed the 'long' version of his violins, which became known for their darker tone, deeper color, and stronger arches on the front and back. After 1698, he abandoned the Long Strad model and returned to a slightly shorter model, which he used until his death.
The period from 1700 until the 1720s is often termed the "golden period" of Stradivari's production when his best instruments were made.
The violins of Stradivari's "golden period" feature an amber color, flamed maple back, and world-famous tone and ease of response. During this period Stradivari also made smaller cellos with extraordinary sound, of which only about 20 survive.
In his later life two of Stradivari's 11 children - Francesco and Omobono - helped him in his shop.
Stradivari died in Cremona on December 18, 1737, aged 93.
Stradivari spent his entire life producing instruments. It is estimated that he made 1,116 instruments between 1666 and his death, of which 960 were violins; about 650 of these still exist. Many of these are in museums and private collections, and many are used by the world's leading string players.
The density of the wood used is what's thought to give Stradivarius violins their uniquely sweet sound. Tests were carried out on violins made by Stradivarius and another renowned Italian violin maker, Guarneri del Gesu, along with eight contemporary violins. Experts discovered that variations in wood growth density, determined by tree growth cycles, were considerably larger in the modern violins.
The varnish on the Stradivarius violins was made from Arabic gum, honey and egg white.
Despite modern understanding of the science of varnishes and the thickness of the wood that Stradivarius used, his work has never been matched.
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| A romanticized print of Antonio Stradivari examining an instrument |
No city was more renowned for its musical instruments than Cremona. It was also the home of the Amati family, whose crafting of string instruments from the mid-16th century had set the international standard for beauty of sound.
Stradivari served as an apprentice to Nicolo Amati from about the age of 12. In his early years Stradivari probably worked more on such plucked instruments as guitars, harps and lutes.
In 1666 Stradivari began putting his own label, with his Latin name, Stradivarius, on the violins he made. His early instruments were in the style of his teacher, Nicolo Amati, small and with a yellowish varnish.
Stradivari purchased a house now known as No. 1 Piazza Roma (formerly No. 2 Piazza San Domenico) around 1680 for the sum of 7000 lire. The residence was just doors away from those of several other violin-making families of Cremona, including the Amatis . Stradivari probably worked in the loft and attic, and he stayed in this house for the rest of his life.
 |
| Antonio Stradivari's second house, at No. 2 Piazza San Domenico |
By 1682, Stradivari had acquired at least a small, yet growing, reputation and that year, a Venetian banker ordered a complete set of instruments, which he planned to present to King James II of England.
After Nicolo Amati's death in 1684, Stradivari began a pronounced departure from this earlier style of instrument-making, changing two key elements of his instruments. By 1690 he'd developed the 'long' version of his violins, which became known for their darker tone, deeper color, and stronger arches on the front and back. After 1698, he abandoned the Long Strad model and returned to a slightly shorter model, which he used until his death.
The period from 1700 until the 1720s is often termed the "golden period" of Stradivari's production when his best instruments were made.
The violins of Stradivari's "golden period" feature an amber color, flamed maple back, and world-famous tone and ease of response. During this period Stradivari also made smaller cellos with extraordinary sound, of which only about 20 survive.
 |
| Antonio Stradivari, by Edgar Bundy, 1893: |
In his later life two of Stradivari's 11 children - Francesco and Omobono - helped him in his shop.
Stradivari died in Cremona on December 18, 1737, aged 93.
STRADIVARIUS INSTRUMENTS
Stradivari spent his entire life producing instruments. It is estimated that he made 1,116 instruments between 1666 and his death, of which 960 were violins; about 650 of these still exist. Many of these are in museums and private collections, and many are used by the world's leading string players.
 |
| A Stradivarius violin from the Palacio Real, Madrid, Spain. By Håkan Svensson (Xauxa) |
The density of the wood used is what's thought to give Stradivarius violins their uniquely sweet sound. Tests were carried out on violins made by Stradivarius and another renowned Italian violin maker, Guarneri del Gesu, along with eight contemporary violins. Experts discovered that variations in wood growth density, determined by tree growth cycles, were considerably larger in the modern violins.
The varnish on the Stradivarius violins was made from Arabic gum, honey and egg white.
Despite modern understanding of the science of varnishes and the thickness of the wood that Stradivarius used, his work has never been matched.
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, Sherlock Holmes plays a Stradivarius violin.
A well-preserved Stradivarius violin was sold on June 20, 2011 in an online auction for £9.8m ($15.9m) to raise money for the Nippon Foundation's Northeastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. The price was more than four times the previous record for a Stradivarius. The violin was made in 1721 and is known as the Lady Blunt after Lord Byron's granddaughter Lady Anne Blunt who owned it for 30 years.
Sources Daily Mail, Compton's Encyclopaedia
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