Title: Stradivari’s Genius-Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection
Author: Toby Faber
Page 60-80
Summary
The narrator starts describing the very first violinist that owns the Lipinski. He was called Giuseppe Tartini. His most famous opus is “The Devil’s Sonata.” According to Tartini, his most famous composition grew from a mysterious dream. He recalled he saw the devil and sold his soul in order to produce a beautiful melody from his violin. The melody intrigued Tartini so much that he wrote it down. Still, his imitation of the song remained inferior compare to the one in his dream. Tartini is the one of most influential violinists in the 18th century that made the violin more popular. His contribution led to teaching Geatano Pugnani- a pupil of his. Later on, Pugnani was the teacher of Giovanni Battista Viotti in the late 1700’s. Viotti is the reason the Stradivari violin became a big success in the entire world. His recitals in Paris, France made the forgotten Strads famous. Remember, Antonio Stradivari died, therefore most people forgot about his superb craftsmanship in Europe. The French audience was so satisfied of Viotti’s performances that most people wanted to imitate him. In order to do that, the Strads were required. There are many theories how Giovanni Viotti gained the Viotti. The most romantic theory would be he was the lover of the Russian empress Catherine. The love token was the violin to make him stay in Russia, but his adventurous spirit could no longer stay with her. Other theories are he found it in his European tours or in his native Italy. The puzzling mystery of how Viotti found his Strad.
Quote
“He had brought the craft of violin-making to a peak which no predecessor could have imagined, and in doing so had gained the recognition of archbishops, dukes, and king across Europe” (Faber 66).
Reaction
The structure of book goes chronologically. The smooth transition from the death of Stradivari to the success of his forgotten violins has been amazing. Faber makes every chapter more intriguing by telling the reader of a famous violinist to an even greater virtuoso. It is really spectacular the format Faber does to connect people’s roles to develop the high reputation the Strads still have today. The quote above gives a brief summary of how Stradivari eradicated the uncertain ideas the people thoughts toward violins. Notice, Faber states his contributions made the royal class acknowledge the scandalous violin, even though the Roman Catholic Church opposed it. The storyline had been fine so far.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Stradivari's Genius (Page 1-59)
Title: Stradivari’s Genius-Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection
Author: Toby Faber
Page 1-59
Summary
The narrator begins to describe how immense the Stradivari’s instruments are in the world. People are even willing to pay up to two million dollars just for a Strad (Stradivari in a short version). The sad part about these instruments is the limited amount they are left. From one thousand Strad, only 600 had been preserve present time. The exposition is about the history behind five violins and one cello. Oddly, every Strad has a name. The names of the Strads Faber will inform to the reader are the Messiah, the Viotti, the Kehevenhyller, the Paganini, the Lipinski, and the Davidov. These Strads had been carved by the great luthier, aka the craftsman of instruments, Antonio Stradivari. Over time, these violins had been own by great virtuosos. The history of the beginning of craft making violins had been included. It all began in Cremona, Italy in the 14th century. At that time the violin had a questionable reputation and was not popular. Thanks to the French Queen Catherine de Medici, violins became well known. Due to the fact she was the first monarch to help a group of violinists in her balls. After that, violin- making became a competition. The very first man to improve the antique shape of the violin is known as Andrea Amati. He was able to amplify the violin’s sounds more clearly and beautifully. His name became known as the early luthier from the 15th century. In 1564, Amati carved the oldest violin in the world. His name became famous that made his upcoming generations luthiers as well. The Amati luthiers faced inferiority in the 17th century as another Cremonese craftsman began to make his masterpieces-Antonio Stradivari. His works outshined other luthiers due to his unique characteristics all his instruments has. The clarity and sweetness his instruments were the basic reasons the Strads are the best. Little is known of Stradivari, except he married twice and his children could not keep up of his amazing skills. Basically, the Strads could not be made easily and his family was not interested of keeping his legacy after his death. The big improvements Stradivari contributed to the violin craftsmanship, his remaining were buried in the Church of San Domenico besides his first wife that both lived together for almost 40 years.
Quote
“Beautifully inlaid, these violins carry elaborate purfling and elegant tracery about their sides and on their scrolls” (Faber 27).
Reaction
Admiration is the tone of the narrator has toward Stradivari’s instruments. The narrator’s statements are in high details that make the reader ponder how skillful the great luthier was. The narrator convinced me Stradivari was a very amazing craftsman. The quote above supports my statement of respect Faber feels about Stradivari’s contribution to classical music. The book is well written and interesting. Faber’s style is full of imagery and the pertinent information does not make the reader fall asleep. A great book about violin’s history!
Author: Toby Faber
Page 1-59
Summary
The narrator begins to describe how immense the Stradivari’s instruments are in the world. People are even willing to pay up to two million dollars just for a Strad (Stradivari in a short version). The sad part about these instruments is the limited amount they are left. From one thousand Strad, only 600 had been preserve present time. The exposition is about the history behind five violins and one cello. Oddly, every Strad has a name. The names of the Strads Faber will inform to the reader are the Messiah, the Viotti, the Kehevenhyller, the Paganini, the Lipinski, and the Davidov. These Strads had been carved by the great luthier, aka the craftsman of instruments, Antonio Stradivari. Over time, these violins had been own by great virtuosos. The history of the beginning of craft making violins had been included. It all began in Cremona, Italy in the 14th century. At that time the violin had a questionable reputation and was not popular. Thanks to the French Queen Catherine de Medici, violins became well known. Due to the fact she was the first monarch to help a group of violinists in her balls. After that, violin- making became a competition. The very first man to improve the antique shape of the violin is known as Andrea Amati. He was able to amplify the violin’s sounds more clearly and beautifully. His name became known as the early luthier from the 15th century. In 1564, Amati carved the oldest violin in the world. His name became famous that made his upcoming generations luthiers as well. The Amati luthiers faced inferiority in the 17th century as another Cremonese craftsman began to make his masterpieces-Antonio Stradivari. His works outshined other luthiers due to his unique characteristics all his instruments has. The clarity and sweetness his instruments were the basic reasons the Strads are the best. Little is known of Stradivari, except he married twice and his children could not keep up of his amazing skills. Basically, the Strads could not be made easily and his family was not interested of keeping his legacy after his death. The big improvements Stradivari contributed to the violin craftsmanship, his remaining were buried in the Church of San Domenico besides his first wife that both lived together for almost 40 years.
Quote
“Beautifully inlaid, these violins carry elaborate purfling and elegant tracery about their sides and on their scrolls” (Faber 27).
Reaction
Admiration is the tone of the narrator has toward Stradivari’s instruments. The narrator’s statements are in high details that make the reader ponder how skillful the great luthier was. The narrator convinced me Stradivari was a very amazing craftsman. The quote above supports my statement of respect Faber feels about Stradivari’s contribution to classical music. The book is well written and interesting. Faber’s style is full of imagery and the pertinent information does not make the reader fall asleep. A great book about violin’s history!
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