Il suono e l’arte (The sound and the art) is the online magazine that today begins its publications in these early days of autumn. One more magazine, or is it an informational tool for reflection? When information fulfills its role, it relies on analysis and precise demonstrations. The purpose is to establish a dialogue with the reader. It is not simply a matter of promoting shared knowledge—or more accurately, broader knowledge—but of fostering an active culture capable of creating a constructive dialogue that impacts the topics discussed and broadens their horizon.

Musical Expression
If the question is rhetorical, the topic itself is not. Art, in its specific relationship with Sound, is a theme rich in humanistic and scientific references that have traversed culture. Above all, it is an experience we all share. In the transmission of sound, the musical instrument becomes a “medium” and, at the same time, influences performance with its own “timbre.”

Violin making is not a subject for specialists alone; it prompts reflection on the role of “music” in each of our lives and how the “voice” affects it. Beyond theoretical knowledge—which is essential for composers, critics, and luthiers—and the references related to the history of music and violin making, objectively verified through careful studies, it is the participant in the performance who determines its meaning, expressing their own judgment. This is closely connected to one’s aesthetic emotions, which are objectified through execution.

One wonders what it means to recognize, in an “asemic” language (without a single, univocal meaning)—as music is—a form of art that not only involves but also provokes questions. The theme will be explored by revisiting what scholars, involved in various capacities, have already studied, but it will also serve as a topic for open discussion.

The Great Cremonese Violin Making Tradition
The preamble aims to declare the horizon within which the many topics intended to be addressed are studied and researched. Reference to the “Violin Making Tradition” that distinguishes Cremona is essential. The City, for over five hundred years, owes its fame to violin making.

Tradition is the transmission of skills, know-how, and research, but it also allows one to remain contemporary with the demands of the time. Memory is not mere recollection but the capacity to maintain the foundations of customs typical of an “intangible culture” that knows how to engage with continuous change.

This may seem contradictory, but on closer examination, “change” and “cultural custom” are not opposing terms. A custom maintains its identity only when it engages with the present. It is then that it reveals its intrinsic strength. Music requires instruments that meet the demands imposed by time, yet the bows keep alive the excellence that distinguishes them. A cultural dimension, which identifies a territory, knows what can be modified and what should not be left to fleeting fashions.

Certainly, this requires a conscious attitude toward responsibility and, consequently, stewardship. The arrogance of certain operators does not align with Tradition. Therefore, a continuous and fruitful dialogue is necessary to safeguard what has been passed down from the past: its history and culture. This task falls to researchers, scholars, and those who use archival skills to understand the objectivity of facts, and to those who derive reliable data from scientific expertise to compare and apply in the current context.

The Role of the Cremonese Violin Making Tradition Worldwide
A local issue? Not at all. When a city’s culture imposes itself as a distinguishing hallmark, it belongs to the city alone—but when it expands its boundaries and remains faithful to itself over time, it becomes a “capital” of a historical phenomenon. Many students and scholars have come to Cremona to learn the art of the great master luthiers. The School of Violin Making has been a fertile ground with an attractive function. Subsequent initiatives formed a set of corollaries, allowing for an increasingly in-depth approach to violin making, making it an object of international interest.

What about the Musicology faculty with its courses, the Stauffer Foundation with its rich initiatives, and the Violin Museum preserving instruments of great value? Numerous other initiatives have placed violin making at the center; the list would be very long.

However, a capital is not such unless it expands its influence. The presence of young foreigners, for instance, has created a bridge between the City and their places of origin. A fruitful dialogue has thus opened, enhancing knowledge and expertise. Cremona stands at the center of every debate. This is not globalization; rather, it is a constant enrichment that benefits both Cremona and those connected to it: it benefits violin making.

Italian Violin Making Traditions
Another matter requires attention: a necessary clarification. Italy has numerous local violin making traditions. Italian culture is characterized by the presence of different artistic schools.

A clarifying example is painting. Locally, traditions identify a shared approach to visual art, without undermining the identity of individual artists. Similarly, this applies to sculpture and architecture. These aesthetic forms conventionally shape the history of visual art. If we add local sensitivities to geographic conditions, Italian artists, through travel, come into contact with other realities.

In violin making, the presence of musicians—who commission instruments from luthiers—is a significant incentive for dialogue. Music has precise needs to be fulfilled. The first is the necessary union between a composer’s style and the instrument’s timbre. The latter gives perceptual identity to music. A piece exists on the score, but the performer uses the instrument’s voice, and the listener perceives it through the sound, which stimulates their aesthetic approach.

While there are remarkable forms of local craftsmanship—such as Capodimonte or Doccia (Ginori) porcelain—violin making is a widespread cultural phenomenon throughout Italy, making it unique in the world. Moreover, local traditions endure over time; they are not sporadic, but actively present. Other families of instruments, though prestigious, are limited to specific areas. Violin making traditions represent an aspect not only of the art of master luthiers but also of music history. The nationwide presence of violin making establishes it as a unique cultural phenomenon.

A.L.I. (Associazione Liuteria Italiana, Italian Violin Making Association)
In light of the above, A.L.I. (Associazione Liutaria Italiana) was established with the primary aim of developing and spreading violin making culture. The initiative is credited to Maestro Dr. Giobatta Morassi, who in 1980 founded in Cremona an association joined by both master luthiers and those interested in violin making. While promoting its development in all components—humanistic and scientific, alongside the study of construction methods—the identity of each local school was safeguarded.

Within the Association, it is well understood that the main reference for violin making is the artistic personality of each master luthier, but it is equally understood that art relies on techniques, skills, know-how, and local traditions. Specifically in violin making, the shape of the instrument and its timbre form an inseparable unit, which involves music: sound gives it voice and characterizes it.

Maestro Dr. Giobatta Morassi stated that the Association: “Internally has admitted and recognized the establishment of the Group of Professional Luthiers and Bow Makers, whose purpose is to safeguard and continue the noble tradition of the past, maintaining in their production those sound principles of manual craftsmanship, individuality, aesthetics, and harmony that have always distinguished the masterpieces of Italian violin making.” To uphold the artistic profile of the Master Luthiers, a “professional ethical code” was drawn up, adhered to by the luthiers of the Association, serving as a true manifesto of violin making know-how.

From Violin making, Music and Culture to "Il suono e l’arte"

The online magazine Il suono e l’arte takes up the baton from the A.L.I. magazine Violin making, Music and Culture, revisiting themes studied in depth by numerous researchers. It addresses master luthiers and all those interested in the world of violin making, offering debate on topics from scientific disciplines (such as instrument mechanics, dendrochronology, varnish chemistry, etc.) and humanistic disciplines (such as violin making history, musical iconography, archival studies, etc.).

It targets musicians (composers and performers), music scholars, and those researching the relationship between music and sound, or music and string instruments. Aesthetics—art philosophy connecting music and violin making—will also be explored.

The magazine will be structured into specific sections, allowing dialogue with readers, which online dissemination will facilitate. For this reason, L’Arte e il Suono will be published in both Italian and English editions, recognizing the international relevance of its topics.

To give concreteness to the topics, major concert performers will be interviewed to share their relationship with the instruments they play. Performers usually consider the instrument a continuation of their own personality: a necessary relationship to express their art. Concert reviews will be highly relevant. Today, performers usually announce the luthier’s name when presenting themselves to the public—a practice that should be promoted to enhance public knowledge of violin making. Over time, it is hoped that concert reviews will extend beyond Cremona, bringing further accounts of major musical events.

On the violin making front, beyond technical topics, a “video section” will allow readers to become familiar with instruments usually discussed but seldom seen. One understands an instrument by knowing its shape and timbre.

As I conclude this presentation, I must—and it is a pleasure—to thank the A.L.I. Master Luthiers, who once again placed their trust in me. They keep alive a unique know-how that safeguards historical memory between art and culture, between instrument timbre and music, while keeping it contemporary.

A great thanks also goes to Editorial Director Mario Silla, who, out of love for Cremona, has always paid attention to violin making. Silla is well aware that Cremona’s name is world-renowned for its Violin Making Tradition.

It has been said that five hundred years constitute continuity as they are “active memory,” capable of developing ongoing potential.