Reference Library Makers

B. 1687, Lendinara, d.1750, Venice

Recognised as the finest of all cello makers, due to the compact but broad and tonally powerful model he devised in the early 1720s. Taught by Matteo Gofriller, his work is similar in style, being fairly loose and asymmetrical, but generally covered in a particularly rich red varnish given to a characteristic clotted and crackled surface texture. His violins are more variable; some very fine examples were built on a flat arch and have a first-rate sound, but others follow the high-built Stainer and Amati patterns, and consequently have less volume of sound. After his death, his business was continued briefly by his son-in-law, Giorgio Serafin, the nephew of Santo Serafin, one of his chief rivals.