The Authors
Stradivarius
Charles Beare obe studied violin making at the Mittenwald School in
The name Stradivarius has long evoked the idea of creative genius.
1958–59, and studied in New York at the invitation of the leading expert
Antonio Stradivari (c.1644–1737) is the creator of the classic model and his
Rembert Wurlitzer at the beginning of 1960. There, he received training in
craft celebrates intrinsic beauty and powerful melody.
the art of restoration under Simone Fernando Sacconi, and at the same
The Ashmolean exhibition will, surprisingly, be the first major showing
time had the opportunity to study more than a hundred instruments by
of his work in Britain. In every case, the twenty-one instruments discussed
Antonio Stradivari. After returning to the UK in 1961, Charles took charge
are the finest and most beautiful of their kind.
of the workshop, and in due course the running of the family business
This book makes a landmark contribution to the existing literature on
which had begun in 1892 and went onto become the leading house of its
Stradivari and provides an insight into the Stradivari vision through the
kind in London, specialising in fine instruments.
turbulent tales and examination of the mysterious qualities that
Charles chaired the Scientific Committee for the exhibition in Cremona
contribute to the immortal reputation enjoyed by Stradivari’s instruments among players and audiences across the world. With a foreword by
1987. In the following year he was awarded Honorary Citzenship of the City.
virtuoso violinist and Stradivarius player, James Ehnes, the catalogue also
Peter Beare studied violin making in Salt Lake City and since then has worked as a maker and restorer of stringed instruments with J & A Beare Ltd in London, Etienne Vatelot in Paris, Premysl and Jan Spidlen in Prague, and Carl Becker in Wisconsin. He now concentrates on making new instruments in rural Kent. Carlo Chiesa was born in Milan in 1962. He graduated from the Scuola di Liuteria in Milan and studied history and philosophy at the Catholic University. A few years later, he opened his own workshop, where he makes violins, violas, ’cellos, and viols. He is particularly interested in making and setting up Baroque instruments. In 2003 he was appointed conservator of stringed instruments at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. Dr Jon Whiteley has been Assistant Keeper of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum since 1977, and is currently Senior Curator of European Art, specialising in French and British paintings and drawings, and with curatorial responsibility for the Museum’s collection of musical instruments. His publications include Ingres (1976), Sixteenth-Century French Ornament Drawings in the Ashmolean (1996), and a complete catalogue of French Drawings in the Ashmolean (2000). He curated the exhibition, Claude Lorrain: Drawings from the Collections of the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum held at the British Museum and Ashmolean in 1998; and the major exhibition, Claude Lorrain: the Enchanted Landscape held at the Ashmolean and the Städel Museum, Frankfurt in 2011–12. He is at present preparing a catalogue of the later French paintings in the Ashmolean.
front jacket 1683 The ‘Cipriani Potter’ Violin
back jacket 1716 ‘Le Messie’ Violin
charles beare peter beare carlo chiesa jon whiteley
which celebrated the 250th anniversary of Antonio Stradivari’s death in
features essays by world-renowned luthier and expert, Charles Beare obe; his son, Peter Beare; the luthier and violin historian, Carlo Chiesa; and Dr Jon Whiteley of the Ashmolean Museum. New catalogue entries record the fascinating stories of the instruments’ provenance and the details of their manufacture. Fresh photography has been completed by Tucker Densley with an expertise that is familiar throughout the violin world.