Sesto Rocchi
Violin maker
(1909 – 1991)
According to Sesto Rocchi's own account, his interest in violin making stems from an early childhood crash course in repair: after dropping his violin, he attempted to fix it without arousing the suspicion of his parents. Some years later Rocchi entered the School of Violin Making in Parma, where he studied with Gaetano Sgarabotto. After working alongside his teacher for several years, Rocchi developed an interest in Sgarabotto's teacher Leandro Bisiach and the influence of classical Cremonese makers on his work. He eventually went to work and live with the Bisiach family in Milan, where his immediate contact with the family's collection of antique masterpieces had a formative impact on his workmanship and choice of models. After a period in Berlin with Ströbl and with the Monzino firm in Milan, Rocchi was called to the front in 1939. He returned to find his models destroyed by the elements, and only in 1949 started to rebuild his workshop. Over the ensuing years he built many instruments, especially quartets based on models of Stradivari, who became his preferred inspiration.
Price History
- The auction record for this maker is $37,960 in Dec 2021, for a viola.
- 55 auction price results.
View all auction prices for Sesto Rocchi
Instruments
Violin -
1932
San Polo d'Enza
Violin -
1933
Varese
Violin -
1957
San Polo d'Enza
Violin -
1958
San Polo d'Enza
Violin -
c. 1968
San Polo d'Enza