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!