Masterpieces of Italian Violin Making (1620-1850): Important Stringed Instruments from the Collection at the Royal Academy of Music - Tapa dura

...an indispensable addition to the small number of up-to-date and well-illustrated catalogues of instrument collections and as a fine aid to the study and enjoyment of this magnificent assembly of examples of outstanding Italian lutherie from the early seventeenth to the mid nineteenth centuries. * Music & Letters * Masterpieces of Italian Violin Making represents an important contribution to violin scholarship, and this second edition, providing outstanding photographic reproductions, is a significant step forward. No other book provides such technical assistance to readers who wish to learn about the evolution of craftsmanship in the art of violin making during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth centuries...an invaluable aid to the scholar or dilettante of this field. * Journal of The American Musical Instrument Society * ...so successful is the photography in capturing the iridescent aura of each instrument. And the photographs' rich detail perfectly complements the descriptions...Urgently recommended. * Fanfare Magazine * ...an indispensable addition to the small number of up-to-date and well-illustrated catalogues of instrument collections and as a fine aid to the study and enjoyment of this magnificent assembly of examples of outstanding Italian lutherie from the early seventeenth to the mid nineteenth centuries. Music & Letters Masterpieces of Italian Violin Making represents an important contribution to violin scholarship, and this second edition, providing outstanding photographic reproductions, is a significant step forward. No other book provides such technical assistance to readers who wish to learn about the evolution of craftsmanship in the art of violin making during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth centuries...an invaluable aid to the scholar or dilettante of this field. Journal of The American Musical Instrument Society ...so successful is the photography in capturing the iridescent aura of each instrument. And the photographs' rich detail perfectly complements the descriptions...Urgently recommended. Fanfare Magazine

This book presents a unique view of the work of the great Italian violin-makers from the 17th to the 19th centuries, based on the collection of The Royal Academy of Music in London. The Academy, founded in 1822, is Britain's senior conservatory and one of the oldest institutions in the world for advanced musical training. Included here are masterpieces by Amati, Cappa, Celoniato, Ceruti, Dalla Costa, Deconet, Gagliano, Grancino, Guadagnini, Guarneri, Landolfi, Pressenda, Rota, Rugeri, Seraphin, Sorsana, Stradivari, Tecchler, and Testore. This revised edition has an updated descriptive text, features 15 extra entries, devotes at least two full-color spreads to each instrument, and is supplemented with a new dendrochronological study. Specially-commissioned photographs display each violin, viola, or cello with large, high-quality illustrations, revealing details of these instruments as never before. The Academy's collection of stringed instruments consists of around 100 violins and a similar combined number of violas and celli, the majority of which were received as gifts over the last century, beginning with the Rutson Bequest in 1906. These working instruments are maintained in fine playing condition and generally are in the hands of young musicians during their time as students or at the outset of their careers. The fine selection presented here underlines the collection's core of masterpiece Italian violins, and for the most part this book includes only those instruments in the purest state of conservation.