Best Musical Instrument Shops In Venice Near Me

4worldlovers:
Stefano Pio, the author, has achieved one of the most important and complete research ever published on the history of violin making in Italy, bringing to life both the obscure and more celebrated violin makers of the mid-17th to mid-18th centuries, such as Matteo Goffriller, Francesco Gobetti, Carlo Tononi, Pietro Guarneri, Santo Serafin, and Domenico Montagnana. Within the elegant covers of this new book can be found a wealth of invaluable unpublished source information, along with photographs ( 51 instruments) of the highest quality of the most important and representative examples of each violin maker’s work. This beautifully illustrated book is truly a groundbreaking study, revealing hundreds of recently discovered facts, while at the same time conclusively dispelling many mysteries and commonly held errors. Pio’s new book literally brings the reader into Venice’s brilliant past, making it come alive once again.

Profits from the sale of this book will be donated to charity.

The book, with leather bound, (383 pages) is now available at 250 euro plus shipping.

Payment by check, money order or VISA to Venice Research, Santa Croce 2165, 30125 Venezia, Italy.

Fax: Italy + 041 52 36 545 - E-mail: stepio@tin.it - www.veniceresearch.com

For Usa and Canada contact: Brian Newnam - 4585 Fairway Dr., Los Alamos, NM 87544 - U.S.A. E-mail: sound_post@mindspring.com

“ One of the most memorable moments of my life was the first time I arrived in Santa Lucia railway station in Venice. Stepping off the night train from Munich, armed only with a rucksack and negligible Italian, I was totally overwhelmed by the sight which confronted me. As I recall the impact of that extraordinary view of the Grand Canal in the early morning sunshine, I feel I should somehow have sensed that this beautiful city would, at some stage in my life, have a deeper significance for me. When I try to recall a comparable experience in the last few years, I instinctively think of that moment of anticipation when an instrument case is opened, and the glory of its contents is revealed.

In the world of violins, Cremona has often tended to get all the glory. This is perhaps no surprise, given that it was Italy’s undisputed violin-making capital for well over a century, from the early 1600s to the middle of the 18th century. By comparison, Venice’s golden age of violin-making, conveniently squeezed into the first half of the 18th century, seems almost a flash in the pan, but that is precisely what makes it so fascinating. The key to this sudden flourishing of creative genius lies in Venice’s political and, more specifically, its musical history.

Throughout the 17th century Venice had fought to retain its political and cultural independence, refusing to accept the authority of Rome or to ally itself with any other state. This created a spirit of autonomy unique to the Venetians, and the city’s importance as a port brought with it great wealth and a host of different cultural influences. Venice was also home to two of the great instrumentalist/composers of the 17th and early 18th centuries, Claudio Monteverdi and Antonio Vivaldi, and between 1637 and 1700 the city boasted no less than eleven theatres devoted to opera and four conservatories of music. This level of musical activity was sufficient to support hundreds of musicians, and of course a good many capable violin makers.

So it was hardly a coincidence that by the 1720s, Venice was home to six of the leading violin makers of the day. This was in spite of the fact that there was no great violin-making patriarch attracting young talent to the city, as Nicolo Amati had done in Cremona in the 1640s and 1650s.