Stradivarius Violins

Antonio Stradivari, born in 1644 in Italy, belonged to a very famous family, known for its production of violins, otherwise known as the Stradivarius violin. It is speculated that Antonio could have possibly been a student of Nicolo Amati, who also belonged to a family of violin-makers. The infamous Antonio Stradivari first began his business in the year of 1680. In the beginning of his career, his violins were not efficient and impeccable like those he made later on in his career, possibly during the years between 1698 and 1720. For creating his violins, he utilized wood that contained spruce and maple. The spruce was used for the top and internal parts, while the maple was utilized for the back of the violin, the strip, and the neck. Minerals such as sodium, potassium silicate, Bianca, and potassium borate, were utilized to enhance the quality of the wood. These violins are extremely popular and well-known, as well as very expensive. Many Stradivarius violins were named after the musician who played them, or the owner who bought them. One such violin is the Aranyi named after Francis Aranyi, a collector of violins. Mercur-Avery is another violin, named after Jonathan Carney, who played in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Many of the Stradivarius violins are owned by foundations and organizations such as the Nippon Music Foundation, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Royal Academy of Music, the Donald Kahn Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, Austrian National Bank, the Finnish OKO Bank, the Stradivari Society, as well as the Library of Congress. One violin was even named after the Spanish city of Cadiz, and resided there as well. There are several violins which are stolen and missing, such as the Oistrakh, Ames, Lamourex, Davidov-Morini, Colossus, Le Maurien, and Lipinski. Many of the Stradivarius violins are currently being utilized by musicians and played for professional purposes. Several others are on loan to individuals, such as the Joachim, the Booth, the Dolphin, and the Kiesewetter. Most of these violins were created in the late 1660’s to the early 1730’s. Throughout this span, numerous Stradivarius violins were created and owned by prominent individuals of society. 

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