“An Introduction to the Old Italian Violins” offers the most thorough and richly illustrated overview of the Italian violin-making school ever produced. It features 180 makers and 600 photographs. It is also the first publication by the famous London dealership J & A Beare, which was from the outset created exclusively for the Chinese audience.

 

Starting in Cremona with Andrea Amati, widely acknowledged as the father of violin making, the reader is introduced to the work of other great masters such Nicolò Amati, Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppe Guarneri “del Gesù” and Carlo Bergonzi, who have set the golden standards for stringed instruments. Following their example, the book explores how the craft spread across other Italian cities, and throughout Europe. Each violin-school is presented within the political and cultural context of its time. The numerous biographies of the makers reveal the close links that existed between musicians, composers, master-luthiers and their apprentices.

 

The violin, with its distinctive shape and voice, has become deeply rooted in almost all cultures of the world. However, the origins of its underlying geometry drawn from the scientific and progressive thinking that shook western Europe during the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the third part, the book explores the rationale of its construction and evolution.

 

Based on 125-year-old archives of J & A Beare, the prominent violin experts of London, and edited by John Dilworth, the book also provides valuable insights into the current violin market and advises on the care of the instruments.

 

We hope that this book will prove itself useful to Chinese players and violin-makers, and give them as much pleasure as we took making it.

 

Mandarin speaking readers can order the book on our WeChat platform.