Giovanni Battista Guadagnini

thumb|Guadagnini family tree

Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (often shortened to G. B. Guadagnini; 23 June 1711 – 18 September 1786) was an Italian luthier, regarded as one of the finest craftsmen of string instruments in history. The Guadagnini family was known for their violins, guitars and mandolins. In 1742, his first violins start to appear. It is unclear from whom or where he learned his trade. Since he joined the woodworking guild, it is likely that he underwent an apprenticeship with a local woodworker; however, there is no evidence of any local instrument makers in Piacenza at the time.

In 1749 Guadagnini moved to Milan, where he continued to make instruments. The reason for his move is unknown, but was perhaps economically motivated as Milan was a much larger city with a larger and more active music scene. During this time a few of his instruments bear labels implying a relationship to Cremona—the home of the renowned violin makers Amati, Stradivari, and Guarneri—however no evidence exists that Guadagnini ever lived in Cremona. During his time in Parma Guadagnini was also closely connected to the court, and in particular to the musical patronage of the Prime Minister Guillaume du Tillot. In his later years in Parma Guadagnini even received a direct salary from the court. In 1771, with the Court's financial fortunes in decline, Guadagnini asked to be allowed to leave.

Giovanni Battista Guadagnini died in Turin on 18 September 1786. He is also possibly the last of historical makers to have used a varnish similar to what was used by classical Cremonese makers.

Performers with Guadagnini instruments

;Violinists

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! width="15%" |Violinist

! width="15%" |Date & place of manufacture

! width="15%" |Sobriquet

! class="unsortable" width="40%" |Comments

! class="unsortable" width="15%" |Reference

|Madeline Adkins

|1782

|ex-Chardon

|On loan from Gabrielle Israelievitch, previously played by Jacques Israelievitch

|Felix Ayo

|1744

| Riccardo Brengola

| 1747, Piacenza

| Contessa Crespi

|Adolf Brodsky

|1751, Milan

|ex-Brodsky

|Zakhar Bron

|1757, Milan

|Chloe Chua

|1753, Milan

|Bartu Elci-Ozsoy

|1760

|ex-Vidas

|Loaned by Conservatoire de Paris. The violin, made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, was previously owned by Romanian-born violinist Raoul Georges Vidas (1901–1978) and was donated to the Conservatoire de Paris by the late virtuoso's mother Anna Vidas.

|Chloe Chua

|1753

|On Loan from the Rin Collection [https://www.ystmusic.nus.edu.sg/our-supporters-rin-collection/]

|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFpYDmMRilw&t=425s]

| Amaury Coeytaux

| 1773

|Andrew Dawes, Robert Uchida

|1770, Parma

| Dawes, de Long Tearse

||Richard Deakin

|English chamber musician and soloist, currently teaching at RAM in London, was using one in 1980s and likely still is.

|Dorothy DeLay

|1778, Turin

|Julia Fischer

|1742

|Carl Flesch

|1750s

|ex-Henri Vieuxtemps

|David Garrett

|1772

|In December 2007, Garrett fell after a performance and smashed his Guadagnini, which he had purchased four years earlier for US$1 million. He now uses it for mainly his outdoor crossover performances.

|Kai Gleusteen

|1781

|the tiger

|David Greed

|1757

|Owned by the Yorkshire Guadagini 1757 Syndicate.

|Arthur Grumiaux

|1752

|ex-Grumiaux

|David Halen

|1753

| Jascha Heifetz

| 1741, Piacenza

| ex-Heifetz

| Provenance – by Rembert Wurlitzer in 1946 and Dario D'Attili in 1991

|Marlene Hemmer

|1764

|Peter Herresthal

|1753, Milan

|Willy Hess

|1740s

|Joseph Joachim

|1767, Parma

|ex-Joachim

|Ida Kavafian

|1751

|Bomsori Kim

|1774, Turin

|David Kim

|1757

|On loan from The Philadelphia Orchestra

|Min-Jeong Koh

| 1767

| Goran Končar

| 1753, Milan

|Mikhail Kopelman

|1773

|Jan Kubelik

|1750

|ex-Kubelik

|Pekka Kuusisto

|1752

|On loan from the Finnish Cultural Foundation

|Jack Liebeck

|1785

|ex-Wilhelmj

|Wayne Lin

|1779, Turin

|Tasmin Little

|1757, Milan

|Mauro Lopes Ferreira

|Haldon Martinson

|1750

|Being used in the Boston Symphony Orchestra

|Lorin Maazel

|1783, Turin

|Stefan Milenkovich

|1780, Turin

|Viktoria Mullova

|1750

|Ginette Neveu

|Purchased early spring, 1949. Involved in an air crash later that year, in which Neveu died. Scroll later apparently appeared in Paris, having changed hands several times.

|David Plantier

|1766

|Simone Porter

|1745

|On loan from The Mandell Collection of Southern California

| William E. Pynchon

| 1779, Turin

| Purchased 26 March 1957. Played in San Francisco Opera until 1998

|Linda Rosenthal

|1772, Turin

|Leon Sametini

|1751

|ex-Sametini

|Mari Samuelsen

|1773, Turin

|On loan from ASAF (Anders Sveeas Charitable Foundation, Oslo).

|Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio

|1757

| Mayumi Seiler

| 1740, Piacenza

|Ittai Shapira

|1745, Piacenza

|Sini-Maaria Simonen

|1760

|On loan from the Finnish Cultural Foundation

|Roman Simovic

|1752

|On loan from Jonathan Moulds

|Yvonne Smeulers

|1757

|Called the "Lady S"

|Lara St. John

|1779

|Salabue

|Called "The Resurrection" by St. John

|Lyndon Johnston Taylor

|1777

| Veriko Tchumburidze

| 1756, Milan

|loaned by Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben

|Henri Temianka

|1752

|Built based on the Petro Guarnerius model. Certificate of Joseph Vedral, violinmaker, Holland, 28 September 1929

|Vanessa-Mae

|1761

|Gizmo

|Pablo Valetti

|1758

|Pavel Vernikov

|1747, Piacenza

|ex-Contessa Crespi, ex-Brengola

|On loan from Fondazione Pro Canale. Worth $1.5 million in 2016. Stolen in December 2016.

|Henri Vieuxtemps

|1750s

|ex-Henri Vieuxtemps

|Bob Wills

|1784

|Described as 157 years old when bought in 1941 for $3,000, Wills later claimed in an interview that he gave it away "to a friend of mine in Tayxas" and bought another for $5,000.

|Audrey Wright

|1753

|ex-Alsop

|On loan from the Alsop Trust. Previously played by Madeline Adkins

|Eugène Ysaÿe

|1754, Milan

|ex-Eugène Ysaÿe

|Li Chuan Yun

|1784

|On loan from the Stradivari Society

|Elina Vähälä

|1780

; Violists

Li-Kuo Chang plays the 'ex-Vieuxtemps' G.B. Guadagnini viola, Parma c.1768.
Geraldine Walther plays a G.B. Guadagnini viola, Turin 1774.

; Cellists

Nicolas Altstaedt plays a G.B. Guadagnini cello made in 1749 (body size: 70 centimeters)
Natalie Clein plays the "Simpson" Guadagnini cello (1777).
Kristina Reiko Cooper plays the "ex-Havemeyer" Guadagnini cello made in 1743.
David Geringas plays a G.B. Guadagnini cello made in 1761.
Maxine Neuman plays a 1772 Guadagnini.
Han-na Chang plays the G.B. Guadagnini cello made in Milan in 1757.
Gilberto Munguia plays a G.B. Guadagnini cello (1748).
Saša Večtomov played a G.B. Guadagnini cello made in Milan in 1754.
Sol Gabetta plays a G.B. Guadagnini cello (1759).
Carter Brey, principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, plays a Guadagnini made in Milan in 1754.
David Finckel plays a G.B. Guadagnini cello (1754)

;

; Groups

Australian String Quartet (ASQ) plays four matched instruments: a violoncello (c.1743), and a violin (1748–49), both made in Piacenza, and a viola (1783) and another violin (1784) made in Turin.

References

Bibliography

Cozio Archive Giovanni Batista Guadagnini.

External links

""Bach es un horizonte de infinitas posibilidades" . Archived from Diario de Sevilla on <small>12 Marzo, 2021.</small>

Performers with Guadagnini instruments

See also

References

Bibliography

External links