Did Stradivarius Make Violas

[Jaunita Rousu]

TheStrad viola model is very popular with Italian contemporary makers, but not all that popular with makers specialized in violas, that in general prefer Amati, Guarneri, Brecian models (Maggini, Gasparo da Sal) or a personal model.

I do enjoy the proportioned Strad patterns, for myself and have a few different sizes, but many do sound whiny and lightweight in the presence of other instruments. My main viola is Venician-inspired model and that is what most want used, as it voices both as a cello and a violin. It is sensitive to bows and generally dislikes the stiffer bows. It prefers a slower slip, so a slightly softer, grippier bow produces the best sound. Smaller Andrea and Brothers Amati copies are also purchased when available - as they tend to be safe student instruments. For myself, i have not found a Brescian model that i have liked. But Ideally, I am saving for a Borman viola with long f-holes. Would like to try one long term.

It was listed on the back of an older LP that Trampler, if i remember correctly, played a longer Brescian model at least on that LP. I would have loved to have heard Ms Lillian Fuchs on her viola when she was still alive. Toby Appel playing Maestro Rabut's instrument... a very natural pairing. Not distracting at all.

I don't believe there are any soloists around today that could afford a Strad Viola. Peter Schidlof seem to do just fine on the MacDonald and (although he had troubles to begin with) Antoine Tamesit sounds just fantastic with the Mahler.

I listened to some of the links, but the Bach stuff doesn't do anything for me; so I looked for something else and found some Walton. It sounded good, Mac Sabbah. Wondered what he plays. A viola made in 1951 in Chicago. Found a picture of it; upside down. Flipped the Gibson over upside down, and we see the pattern that Leroy F. Geiger used to make that viola. So even 70 years ago in the US, makers made Strad style violas.

I see that the Tuscan Medici looks the same; both have more tapered f holes. They seem to fit in better; at least with that narrow waist. Viola posters are a very rare thing. I just work off pictures when I find one I like. But I haven't made any in a while. One like a viola d'amore would be cool. It wouldn't be skinny.

Where did the Mahler poster come from? Oh, it's new. 412 long and made of poplar? I just looked for wood the other day, and looked at poplar, but only found some greenish slab wood. Not a big fan of slab poplar. It was big enough for an arch top guitar, but not a cello. I like the look of quartered poplar, very nice maple-like cross rays? but you never see 5-6 inch wide boards of quartered poplar, or ANY quartered poplar. I guess that it is too cheap to fuss over.

Stradivari happened to live right within that period, and made violins within that period obviously. So naturally wouldn't ALL of his instruments have been BAROQUE-STYLE instruments?(Violins, violas, cellos, etc...) So if that were the case, wouldn't most surviving instruments simply be more or less frankensteins with a lot of the original instrument replaced? Baroque violins and violas had shallow neck angles, short fingerboards, diminuative bass bars, skinny sound posts, and from what I've heard the ribs were shallower than contemporary instruments. Now I would assume that the table and back would be original, and they are one of the biggest contributors to the sound.

I believe that there is a misconception of Stradivari making these instruments as they appear today, and not as they originally appeared, with no acknowledgement to the advancements of other makers along the way. So really Stradivari instruments were almost transitional in form and construction.

The reputation of these Italian makers seem to come from the fact that they sound really well with the modern setup. Jakob Steiner's violins were as estimed as Stradivari's at the time, but with the the modern higher tension, they tend to sound silvery but a little "pinched". Maybe their very pronounced arching doen't vibrate so freely. They sound best when returned to a "baroque" setup.

July 30, 2014 at 06:57 AM Other than the fittings(fingerboard, pegs, tailpiece etc) only two things are required to make an original baroque Stradivari modern, a heavier, longer bass bar, and a way of extending and raising the neck(either a heel graft, like the Messiah, or a new longer neck and a neck scroll graft)The sides, top, back, and scroll are not altered, unless of course some French or Englishman chose to regraduate or thin the plates, and there's a lot of debate about how often this happened, suffice it to say there are a LOT of quite thin graduation strads and del gesus, and only a few quite a bit thicker ones. Seems like someone couldn't leave well enough alone, as today the unaltered thicker del gesus are considered the best.

July 30, 2014 at 08:08 AM What happens when a baroque violin is modernised has nothing to do with altering the original conception of the workings of it. If the plates are left undisturbed, all the consequent modifications can be reversed to bring the instrument to its original specification. A bass-bar can be replaced, the neck can be elongated with a different angle employing a graft, but all these can be reversed so modernising a violin does not in effect alter its original conception, only the sound of it to bring to modern tastes.

In 1998 Yo-Yo Ma recorded some Baroque pieces ("Simply Baroque", Sony Classical SK60680) for cello and orchestra with Ton Koopman and The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. Ma was playing the 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius prepared for Baroque performance practice by Etienne Vatelot & Jean-Jaques Rampal (Paris), and John & Arthur Beare (London).

Arthur Beare said about the alterations, "We didn't go the whole hog in transforming the instrument. The Baroque fingerboard would have been wider, the four strings spread wider apart. We didn't change the fingerboard, but with a Baroque bridge slightly spreading the strings, a tailpiece [instead of an end-pin], a Baroque bow, and gut string, it is a close approximation".

Ma remarked that working with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra was a little like performing with the country fiddler Mark O'Connor. "The fiddling tradition that Mark O'Connor plays is centuries old and has been passed on orally. It offers a living way to see how people played the fiddle several hundred years ago, for which we don't have sonic evidence. In Mark's playing I can see some Baroque elements: bow holds, concepts of sounds, and intonation."

July 31, 2014 at 12:18 PM The idea that Jakob Stainer's work was as esteemed as that of Stradivari is flawed. Stainer was the most celebrated maker of his time, and every string player of the time could only have dreamt of owning one of his instruments. It is more correct to say that Stradivari's work was held in similar high regard as Stainer's. Stradivari was, however, the father of the modern violin, with its lesser arching, and the shape from his 'golden period' which has influenced almost all modern building. It was Stradivari who worked out that higher arching can only mean a smaller sound (contrary to the belief at the time that the larger the space within the sound box, the bigger the sound). A flatter table will vibrate more freely, and this will enable the sound to travel further. Among the discerning, there were of course customers who could differentiate between the qualities of an instrument made by Stradivari, and ones by other makers of the time, but unfortunately, there are so many accounts of musicians who apparently found the tone of his instruments "too strident" etc. This is as ridiculous as not believing that a Ferrari may if wished, be driven as slowly as any other car! Additionally, a modern, thicker bass bar is necessary to add strength to the upper table because modern strings exert far more pressure in order to allow the current string pitches to be reached. The form of the sound post has also been strengthened since Stradivari's time. Modern requirements of string instruments came about because of the expansion of the orchestra, namely to include more brass and woodwind instruments, which themselves have undergone various evolutions. It is obvious to me that Stradivari was so ahead of his game, that had orchestras already become modern in his time, he would have strengthened the bass bar and sound post himself, and raised the fingerboard. This clearly wasn't necessary at the time, and composers of the likes of Wagner were still in the distant future. It has to be emphasized that the varnish of the period, along with the new, flatter form was, and is the key to the highly sought-after tone that is typical of the great Italian masters. Modern spirit varnishes cannot possibly allow the wood of the most exceptional new instruments to vibrate with the freedom necessary for the tone of the instrument to emulate that of the great Masters. There are a few makers today who use oil varnish, and particularly in the case of Christoph Gotting's instruments, the difference is immediately apparent. But because such varnish takes much longer to dry, this adds to the time it takes to make a new instrument, and is generally reflected in the price. Ultimately, fewer customer are prepared to pay more, because most of them do not realize the importance of the varnish, or appreciate the difference in price. Only time will tell whether or not one day a varnish will be developed which has superior values compared to any that have gone before. It is correct to say that all of Stradivari's instruments would have originally been equipped with a shorter fingerboard and a thinner bass bar and soundpost, and that the necks would have been angled differently, but unless his instruments were all designed to be looked at in a museum, it is inevitable that they would undergo modifications sooner or later. I doubt whether this would significantly change their current value at auction, but one could argue that if none of these instruments had ever been altered, would his name (and others) mean as much as they do now? His fame, I am sure has as much to do with the fact that his instruments are the tools of the trade for today's soloists, and this would not be the case had they remained in their original Baroque state. Stradivari may have set the standards, but it is up to the current makers to understand his achievements fully, and replicate his work, perhaps also to provide their own innovations, and produce modern instruments which are in every way, as magnificent as Stradivari's. This is entirely possible to achieve, but not while music snobs abound. Ageing of the wood of course has its role to play, but when Stradivari made and sold his instruments, they too were brand new, 'un-matured', and yet were allowed to be used in ensembles of the day, without prejudice.

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