Anna Lucia Maramotti Politi talks about violin making: memory, authenticity, and conservation (3/4)

After reflecting on the cultural significance of the Cremonese violin-making tradition, on the value of memory, and on its international dimension, the conversation with Professor Anna Lucia Maramotti Politi turns to a subject that is as delicate as it is...

Anna Lucia Maramotti Politi talks about violin making: Cremona, tradition, and cultural heritage (2/4)

[pt. 1] After exploring the cultural and philosophical roots of Cremonese violin making, our conversation with Professor Anna Lucia Maramotti Politi moves to the heart of several crucial questions for understanding the contemporary significance of this...

Anna Lucia Maramotti Politi talks about violin making: training, teaching, and thought (1/4)

Cremonese violin making is often told through its great masters, its legendary instruments, and the international prestige it has earned over the centuries. Less common, however, is a perspective capable of understanding it as a complex cultural phenomenon,...

When Cremona Challenged Mittenwald: The Story of the "Violetto" and the Dispute Between Luigi Digiuni and Johann Reiter

Johann Reiter was among the leading makers of the Mittenwald school of violin making. Born in 1879, he was one of the few craftsmen in his hometown who did not work for larger factories. He inherited his style from his father, Johann Baptist Reiter...

Aristide Cavalli and the Attempt to Revive Modern Cremonese Violin Making

Aristide Cavalli was one of the lesser-known violin makers who worked in Cremona after the death of Enrico Ceruti, and one of the most interesting figures of the early twentieth century. Remembered above all for his marked entrepreneurial abilities, he was...

From the ancient “Cantone dei liutai” to a new form of renaissance in musical urbanism

The numerous urban transformations of the luthier world in Cremona—from the birth of what is known as “Classical Violin Making” (Andrea Amati 1505–1510 / 1577) up to the present day—offer the starting point for a new...

The musical voice of Leonardo in the villa of Cecilia Gallerani. The exhibition of Leonardo-inspired instruments by Michele Sangineto has opened

In the Lowlands, the expression “the sound of genius” leads directly—unequivocally and immediately—to the supreme luthier: Antonio Stradivari. An indisputable fact, though not an absolute one. Many musical geniuses have passed through...

Leonardo’s “New” Musical Instruments, Science as a Necessary Reference for Research

The occasion of the event at the Villa of the Lady with the Ermine offers an opportunity to revisit several themes concerning the significance of lutherie, which goes far beyond bowed string instruments understood merely as tools for making...

Between Tradition, Myth, and Market: Lights and Shadows of Italian Luthiery Told by Maestro Alessandro Voltini

Alessandro Voltini is one of the most respected contemporary Italian luthiers. Winner of the 1994 International Triennial Luthiery Competition with a cello, he has devoted his career to the construction, restoration, and teaching of stringed instruments,...

The World of Luthiery Mourns Andrew Fairfax, Scholar, Restorer, and Man of Great Integrity

He was one of the most knowledgeable luthiers, restorers, and experts of our time, as well as a person of great integrity and dedication, qualities he demonstrated throughout his long professional career. Our last meeting took place in Mittenwald in 2022,...