—Publishers Weekly
“You don’t have to be a fiddler or a musician to enjoy this small gem of a book. If you have even a modicum of interest in extraordinary human abilities, you are in for a fine, informative read.”
—Santa Fe New Mexican
“In an increasingly plastic and automated world, The Violin Maker shows that function and beauty must still flow from the hands of a man. Well researched…. The lasting feeling left by The Violin Maker is an appreciation for the ability and dedication of a man working with his hands.”
—Hartford Courant
“An edifying adventure from hewn log to work of art. Readers will be as eager as the author and the luthier to know if it satisfied the violinist. On-pitch reporting documents an inspiring craft.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Honest, witty, and dramatic. Marchese writes with genuine fascination. The results are provocative yet highly sympathetic. A thoroughly gripping read.”
—Strad
“Informative. Insights [into] why classical music’s most analyzed instrument retains so many mysteries.”
—San Diego Union-Tribune
“Entertaining…. [Marchese] shows a talent for engaging turns of phrase, and his accessible style and dry humor commingle well.”
—Library Journal
“In exploring the relationships to one another of Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, Sam Zygmuntowicz of Brooklyn, Eugene Drucker of Manhattan, and a violin made of spruce and maple, Marchese corrals the acoustics and technology of violin building, the love of violin making, and the history of seventeenth-century Italian violins into one book. Like The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, this exploration of the lore of musical instrument manufacture is easy, entertaining, and uniquely informative reading.”
—Booklist
“A fascinating and engaging story about musicianship as well as the art of the violin maker. This book is a treat.”
—Decatur Daily
“In our flimflam, fast-food world of convenience, it’s exhilarating to learn that the old-timey craft of violin making still exists in Brooklyn. John Marchese, one of our best literary journalists, explores the life of colorful Sam Zygmuntowicz, a retro perfectionist with the delicate artistic fingers of Antonio Stradivari. The Violin Maker is a magical, profound, and elegant look at the continued need for high quality in our throwaway society.”
—Dr. Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University and author of The Great Deluge
“Nobly upholding and carrying forth the tradition of John McPhee and Tracy Kidder, John Marchese chronicles the extreme craftsmanship and sharp-edged personality of a world-class craftsman. Between the lines, he wittily deconstructs the capacious lore of violin making, from Stradivari to the twenty-first century. Readable and engaging from the downbeat to the coda.”
—Ben Yagoda, author of About Town: The New Yorker and the World It Made and When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It:
The Parts of Speech, for Better and/or Worse
Also by John Marchese
RENOVATIONS: A FATHER AND SON
REBUILD A HOUSE AND
REDISCOVER EACH OTHER
Credits
Illustration by Sam Zygmuntowicz
Cover design by Robin Bilardello
Copyright
THE VIOLIN MAKER. Copyright © 2007 by John Marchese. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition October 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-185057-8
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1 Guadagnini was a late contemporary of Stradivari who was long (and wrongly) thought to have been an apprentice of the master. He died in 1786, one of the last of the great violin makers of the period.
2 Lupot worked in Paris in the nineteenth century and was strongly influenced by the rediscovery of Stradivari’s work after nearly a century of obscurity.
3 In the Guarneri family of violin makers, Giuseppe, the father of the man who became known as “del Gesù,” signed his fiddles in tribute to his father, “son of Andrea.”
4 Français was from a family of French violin makers and dealers. He emigrated and set up shop in New York. His partner was Sam Zygmuntowicz’s mentor, the restoration expert René Morel.
5 Around that same time Galileo ordered through a priest a Cremonese violin for his nephew. There is a funny series of letters from the cleric to the scientist explaining with mounting apologies why it is taking so long to get the fiddle and how come the price keeps going up. The more things change…
6. Schneider’s violin was returned months later by some rock musicians who’d taken the same taxi later that day. When asked how he felt being reunited with his fiddle, the violinist didn’t bother trying to use words; he picked up the del Gesù and played Bach.
The Violin Maker Page 18