Since 1976 jsi has provided teachers with exceptional customer service. The 1788 violin featured here is typical of balestrieri s late work, and one of its most fascinating aspects is the original label dated 1788. This highly characteristic violin by the great mantuan maker is a powerhouse example of his grand pattern. They are known in the music world for their quality of sound, their great value and rarity. He seldom used the highest quality materials, probably for economical reasons, but this violin has a handsome onepiece back with a modest but regular transverse figure. Camilli, balestrieri on the better examples is especially good and took well to. In the 17th century, we had famous violin makers, antonio stradivari and andrea guarneri, each.
It was featured in azzolinas book but we have sold it to a friend. Tomasso balestrieri maker biography bromptons auctioneers. Praised for his splendid modeling, his violins have received the highest praise from musicians. My guess is that eventually there wont be much to choose in value betwen a gaetano and a mario. Jay haide violin models and outfits carriage house violins. Lane modern trader, a monthly journal for professional traders and investors, invited me to present an alternative in investing to their audience.
The picture of the latter was posted somewhere below, in a company of a grancino. A maker who has seen a recent surge in value is french violin and bow maker jean baptiste vuillaume. Mendini mv400 ebony fitted solid wood violin with tuner, lesson book, hard case, shoulder rest, bow, rosin, extra bridge and strings size 34 4. Tommaso balestrieri violin violin maker dmitry badiarov. Dont expose your violin to extreme hot or cold for extended periods of time to avoid cracks andor warping. In the 17th century, we had famous violin makers, antonio stradivari and andrea guarneri, each with their own unique craftsmanship of violins. Instruments illustrated include violins of amati, balestrieri, bergonzi, da salo. Detailed description and photo of the lot 3196, price 0. All these violins have a great story that continues today. But even if not, at the end of the day, we never recommend throwing out a violin before having it evaluated by a professional. The likelihood is that he was born in one of the villages between cremona and mantua. Summary print showing five people sitting on the left listening to a man playing the violin and a man playing the piano. In nearly all instances, an old case should be thrown away and a new case purchased. Easy ways for an amateur to determine if a violin is valuable or is this violin worth fixing.
The tone is warm, rich and burnished, an ideal partner for chamber music, with fine balance for versatility across the repertoire. Balestrieri did however manage some very attractive, more complex and richer coloured effects in his earlier works, and this is a fine example. Identifying and appraising violin family instruments. This violin is in very good condition showing the beautiful, plentifullypreserved original varnish. If there existed a reference book of violin authentication, you could have. Balestrieri, thomas, this excellent maker was a pupil of stradiuarius, and made after his model. If there existed a reference book of violin authentication, you could have ticked all the boxes. I was honored to prepare an article providing an introduction to a very exciting category of investing. The violin is lithe and responsive, drawing a robust, brilliant tone. This violin is a pleasure to play and sounds well above its price point. The following text is extracted from the article accompanying the photographs. Antique thomas balestrieri fecit mantuae violin no.
Fill out this form with enough information to get a list of comparable copies. His violin designs were copied and modified by later mantua makers camillo camilli and tommaso balestrieri, both of whom may have been his pupils. Carefully selected wood, with a onepiece maple back. This slightly undersized tommaso balestrieri violin strongly reminded me a tiny nicolo amati violin made about 50 years earlier. According to instrument maker john dilworth, balestrieris works have a full sound and forceful appearance. Tommaso balestrieri was an italian luthier in mantua, primarily active from 1750s to 1780s. Violins came into the world back in the 16th century, when it had its first violin maker in history, andrea amati, in the 1500s. For many years violin makers and scientists have tried to find the secrets to their amazing resonance. Jay haide violin models and outfits johnson string. Violin, labeled thomas balestrieri cremsis, fecit mantua anno 1761, the twopiece back of narrow curl, the ribs and scroll of medium curl, the top of fine to wide grain, the varnish of a.
You might think its a rare and valuable book but dont know where to find its value. New instruments from overseas that arent really hand made. The project gutenberg ebook of violins and violin makers, by. This illustration of a violin by tomasso balestrieri was published in the strad, december 1974. Could i get everyones opinion on scarampella violins. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. Thomas balestrieri cremonensis, fecit mantuae anno 1758 the 58 is written in by hand, the rest is a printed label. Camillo camilli and tommaso balestrieri rank among the best of mantuas classical violin makers. Florian leonhard on a mysterious violin and the process of. The twopiece maple back of narrow curl ascending from the center joint, the ribs and head of plain maple, the twopiece spruce top of even medium grain, the varnish is a shaded reddish brown color over a tawny gold ground.
Tommaso balestrieri crafted instruments in cremona, italy from 17201750 before moving to mantua, italy in 1750 to 1772. Jay haide balestrieri model violin outfit johnson string. Keep your violin free of dirt and dust, using only violin friendly cleaning products. On first inspection, it was clearly not a balestrieri, but it bore all the usual telltale signs of an interesting and perhaps even a fine old italian violin.
These are the 12 most expensive violins of all time. Drawn from a very deep well of italian violin making experience, they may not be the most refined of violins in craftsmanship, but rival the very best in performance. On first inspection, it was clearly not a balestrieri, but it bore all the usual. This exquisite violin, by the respected florentian maker, paolo vettori, represents a lifetime of passionate focus on the art of the luthier. One very simple method of finding an approximate value of a book is to search for similar copies on and see what prices are being asked. The instrument has very responsive playability and a rich, complex tone quality. Value of violins violins, violin maker, books, legends. Fine violins for sale italian violins tommaso balestrieri violin. A good example of contemporary instruments increasing in value comes from paul becker, a violin maker and dealer in chicago who has followed the footsteps of multiple. A violin by tomaso balestrieri florian leonhard fine violins. The easiest way to know how much your copy of a book is worth on the open market is to check on how much similar copies are currently being offered for. Not only was he a prolific maker, recognized for his outstanding output of quality instruments and innovations, but also he is accredited to training numerous violin and bow makers that are among the top makers to date.
But its still a nice looking violin, and the size is good. This shopping feature will continue to load items when the enter key is pressed. Thomas balestrieri antique thomas balestrieri fecit mantuae violin no. Both small violins have surprisingly big sound, although the small amati was much darker in tone. Many repairs over the years two patches, cracks, and refinished. Change the strings on your violin once every six to 12 months. The library of congress does not own rights to material in its collections. More than likely, if you didnt know that your grandfather had a nice violin, and the purfling, scroll, corners, insides, graduation, and wood are poor, then the violin. The fhole tongues are very narrow, the scroll eye a bit small, and the varnish slightly green. Do you have an old or antiquarian book and would like to know its value. The sound is warm and strongly projecting, with a solid core. Referred to himself on his labels as cremonese, but to date no record of him has been found in the city.
This is just a small example of the instruments we have to offer, so please contact us for a full range of our violins, violas, cellos and bows. You probably dont need to include every word of the title and authors name. A shorter but more recent account has been given by gough. This violin is an antiqued reproduction of a balestrieri model, and was handcrafted of aged, topquality maple and spruce. Tomasso balestrieri s instruments can be generally characterised as strong, powerful concert instruments with a full sound and forceful appearance. His original is a larger bodied violin with square shoulders. From classics to selfhelp, cookbooks, childrens books and more.
Weve heard all about it because it seems to have happened to everyone. He also used a smaller, more classicallysized pattern based on an older peter guarneri. By offering the best rental program in the country, a vast selection of new and antique instruments and bows, sheet music, method books, teaching aids, and every imaginable stringed instrument accessory, we help teachers maintain their teaching studios. The author has seen an instrument by this artist, which is. Featuring fine violin books and autographs, and antiquarian and rare books pertaining to the violin family of musical instruments. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Professional violins at a great price from our violin shop. Absolutely gorgeous violin, with a rich, powerful tone and a fantastic lower end tone. Cecilio 44 cevn2y solid wood yellow maple metallic electric silent violin. A novices guide to determining if a violin is valuable. Little detail concerning balestrieri s training is known, but his work shows pronounced cremonese features, which can be attributed to pietro guarneris influence on the mantua school in the late 17th to early 18th centuries. It appears that balestrieri ordered too many labels in the early 1760s and made the mistake of having the first three digits printed 176. Cohen also notes that the total dollar volume of auction sales has increased by more than 10%. Tomasso balestrieri is one of those makers the quality of whose work varies very considerably, but even his less carefully finished instruments possess tonal qualities. The best value for your dollar in this range of instruments are the better, older family instruments from germany and mirecourt and the better, truly handmade instruments with reasonablycured wood from china, bulgaria, etc. By kathryn graddy brandeis university and philip e. This is a guarneri model french violin of the francois fent school. Henri francais worked for gand and bernardel from 18801892, when he succeeded to gand. Violins should ideally be stored at between 45% and 50% relative humidity. Below is a selection of instruments from our collection based at our showroom in hampstead.
1365 973 572 862 1472 595 824 1024 751 742 155 132 609 772 726 329 964 213 208 1110 744 236 809 570 730 967 1300 1006 425