Visits to the workshop

Discovering the art of the violin
 

I am glad to welcome people who want to discover this magical instrument. The conditions for visiting the workshop are a booking by email or WhatsApp and groups of no more than about 20 people. So, these are meetings intended above all for families or small groups. If the group is larger than 20 people, it will be split into two shifts.
Anyone who comes to Cremona should visit a workshop so as not to miss a centuries-old tradition that is very important for the city. Do not miss this exciting and unique experience. For more information, write to cremona@violini.net, I will reply the same day.

Onwards with a cello

Latest creation.
After building a cello with a splendid pear-wood back, I am now making a cello that is a little different from the usual Stradivari models or those of other well-known great masters.
It is a David Tecchler 1703 model

Pear-wood cello

Maple is not the only wood used to make the back of an instrument. On this occasion, I used pear wood for this cello. The figure is splendid and the sound is really beautiful.
For anyone interested in this instrument, unfortunately it is already sold :) but I still have another pear-wood back!

Waiting for the musicians

Pear-wood violin.

 

On 4 May (2020), I went back to the workshop after more than two months of forced absence and I was almost moved to find my violins still hanging there in the window or left on the workbench. From one day to the next, everything had stopped.
Now we are trying to take up our passion again but unfortunately even today, after nine months, there is not a musician in sight and if there is nobody to try our instruments, our passion remains unfulfilled.

A violin on the Torrazzo

3 April 2020. A beautiful video that reflects the drama of this so dark period for Cremona.
This “Audition for the City” was organised by Pro Cremona with the violinist Lena Yokoyama. The streets of the city centre were wrapped in music in a unique and moving experience. "The silence. The deserted city. And then, a violin. The emotion, the solemnity, the feeling. The music that, from the top of the Torrazzo, fills the streets and the houses. The applause, distant. The silence, again. Cremona, silent and wounded, was caressed by the grace and mastery of Lena Yokoyama."

Cremona and the violin

It is said that the violin was born in Cremona more than four hundred years ago from the skilled hands of master violin makers who, from carefully chosen woods, created violins of great beauty and excellent sound. Families of great master violin makers such as Amati, Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu helped to build the fame of Cremonese violins throughout the world. Cremona still maintains a great violin-making tradition today and in the workshops of its violin makers violins are made, strictly by hand, according to the tradition inherited from these ancient master violin makers.

Violin maker in Cremona

Being a violin maker in Cremona today means practising a trade of old tradition, an ancient craft. Indeed, the whole instrument is still made by hand according to a centuries-old technique going back to the beginning of the Renaissance. Our masters today are still and always the Stradivaris, the Guarneri del Gesu and other ancient Cremonese violin makers.
The violins produced today are of a quality comparable to those of these masters, above all if we give them time to mature by taking care to play them. They are instruments intended for professional musicians and for amateurs of a certain level who are looking for good instruments without having to spend too much. In fact, most of the violins produced in Cremona have a very fair price compared with the amount of work and the experience needed to do it well. Experience is everything. Without it, we could not even choose the wood correctly.

Close encounters with the violin

Special moments during visits to the workshop

Workshop visit for tourists, schools, families and the secrets of the soul

What people say about the visits

- My son E. and I are still grateful to you for the lovely and instructive morning we spent together last Saturday, we imagined that building a good violin took passion but not that much!!
In an increasingly standardised world it is truly wonderful to see that there are still craftsmen who build with passion, following the rhythms of nature and not of the budget.
Thank you again, every time we see or hear a violin from now on, we will surely listen to it with a different attention…
Claudio

- My wife and I were at your place on Friday the 9th around 3 or 4 in the afternoon...we were just the two of us...there..... we felt like sponges hearing you talk with that passion that makes even someone who isn't one into a violinist!!
It was an unforgettable experience.
Thank you
Augusto B.

- I am listening to the CD of the Quartetto Caprice recorded with your instruments, and I remember with great pleasure the visit made with my travel companions on the wonderful Locarno-Venice "expedition" along the waterways organised by Claudio R. Thanks to you, we spent a most pleasant morning, full of information that was even surprising, sounds, scents and… passion for the craft.
Thank you and warm greetings from Italian-speaking Switzerland
Laura

"We have just received thanks and compliments from the French agency...the clients were very happy, in particular with the visit to your workshop.
We would therefore like to thank you warmly for the helpfulness you showed throughout the whole operation.
It was truly a pleasure to work together".
Marika & Rossella, Ovest Viaggi.

"My name is Franco B. and last Saturday afternoon I was a happy guest at your workshop with the Octav ensemble of Merano. I take this opportunity to compliment you on the lovely and expert explanation seasoned with a touch of romance".

"Thank you for yesterday's explanations and congratulations on how you presented them and for the great work you do"
Max

Merry Christmas and thank you for the magnificent meeting that left a pinch of magic in each of us.
Ada.

Merci de nous avoir bien reçu dans votre atelier, et vous nous fait vibrer avec votre invité violoniste qui a parfaitement bien joué. Nous garderons un très bon souvenir. Cordialement.
Léo

Vous m'avez accueilli avec mon épouse le 12 juillet. Nous sommes maintenant rentrés en France depuis une semaine, et je tenais à vous remercier de votre accueil. Visiter un luthier à Crémone était un rève depuis de nombreuses années, et j'ai été comblé au-delà de ce que j'espérais. J'ai apprécié vos informations sur votre métier, le bois, les outils, la colle, le vernis, etc... Par ailleurs, votre disque est un bonheur. Sur une chaine de bonne qualité, on perçoit la qualité sonore des quatre instruments. Ils sont tous parfaits, mais j'ai particulièrement été séduit par l'alto, lorsqu'il domine.
Encore merci
Jean Pierre B.

A very helpful and likeable maestro who will show you how a violin is born and what lies hidden behind it. A masterpiece of art.
Raoul Cedroni

Helpful and brilliant violin maker, clear and effective explanation
Daniela Bernard

We went with the family...a person of great experience, helpful and above all very likeable.
Francesca Romana Cartuccia

Likeable craftsman, very very skilled and well prepared, especially in building violins.
Fabrizio Fidati

A great artist
Angela Guercia