Sunday, May 3, 2015

Stradivarius At His Peak, 1715

By Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins 
and Martha McDermott

This year, 2015, marks three hundred years since Antonius Stradivarius hit his peak in craftsmanship and tone quality. That's not just my humble opinion. The period around the year 1715 is called Stradivarius' "Golden Period".

1715 'Hochstein' Violin
 Antonius Stradivarius had been working on violins for about fifty years, he was in his seventies and still very healthy, and he had hit upon a model for his violins that combined the best of tone, playability, and projection.



Why write any more? "Seeing is believing", "A picture is worth a thousand words", "Hey! Let's get to the pictures!"
Following are some of our favorite instruments made by Antonius Stradivarius in Cremona, Italy in the year 1715.
1715 'Lipinski' Violin

1715 'Cremonese; ex Joachim' Violin

1715-16  'Messiah' Violin

In case you need any more convincing, check out these videos! 

James Ehnes Playing the 1715 'Marsick' Violin

Jame Ehnes playing the 1715 'Baron Knoop' Violin

Antonio Lorenzi playing the 1715 'nCremonese' Violin

For more reading, check out our blog post on the Messiah Stradivarius!

Are you a violinist or interested in becoming one? Take a look at our Fine Violins!



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