The Cozio Carteggio

The Cozio Carteggio takes its name from Count Cozio’s notebooks, which form the first historical record of fine instruments and their makers. Each week, the Carteggio publishes features about the string world. They include expert commentary on historic instruments and bows, interviews with leading musicians and analysis of the string market. The articles are curated by Tarisio's founder, expert and director, Jason Price and feature the frequent participation of Carlo Chiesa, John Dilworth, Philip J. Kass, Dmitry Gindin, Pierre Guillaume, Paul Childs, Alessandra Barabaschi and other experts.

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Latest Feature

A gift to the nation: the 1690 ‘Tuscan, Medici’ Stradivari viola has been donated to the Library of Congress

David and Amy Fulton and the family of Cameron Baird have gifted the 1690 ‘Tuscan, Medici’ Stradivari viola to the Library of Congress in a transaction valued at $30 million. I spoke with Fulton earlier this week to discuss this historic sale.

By Jason Price

There are only ten complete Stradivari violas in existence and they are arguably the rarest and most valuable stringed instruments in the world. These don’t change hands often, so when they do, it tends to be a big deal. This week, it gives me great pleasure to announce that the 1690 ‘Tuscan, Medici’ Stradivari viola […]

Generally speaking, instrument backs are made of maple. And most of the time, they are either in one piece,...

Born in Bern in 1926, Hansheinz Schneeberger studied with Walter Kägi, Carl Flesch and Boris Kamensky. In 1958 the...

Prior to the 18th century, there was no real industry of violin restorers and repairers. If an instrument was...

After Paris and London, Berlin was the third urban center of violin making. There is mention of Berlin’s first...

Otto Möckel is without a doubt the most famous name in Berlin’s over 400-year history of violin making. His...

Guadagnini violins are always in demand. They sit first desk of orchestras all across the globe; they fill concert...

Decorated quartets by the celebrated French violin maker Jean Baptiste Vuillaume are rare and of great historical importance. This...

The catalog for our June auction in New York goes online today, May 17. There are some very exciting...

The 'Empress Caterina' Stradivari violin of 1708 will be sold by Tarisio on June 8, 2023 in New York....

We begin with Florentine Chanot, the first woman documented to have made violins under her own name. Her husband’s...

The period in which Guarneri made the ‘Baltic’ was significant for the young maker: He moved into a new...

The ‘Baltic’ takes its name from “an old Baltic family by the name of von Giese which no longer...

In the first of three carteggios, Jason Price examines the 'Baltic' Guarneri del Gesù of 1731, which will be...

In 1733 Cremona was home to three master violin makers: Antonio Stradivari, Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ and Carlo Bergonzi. The...

In anticipation of Thursday’s sale of the ‘ex-Perlman, Klausner’ Peter Guarneri of Venice, we prepared a small round-up of...

Over the course of the 20th century, three important female violinists made their careers with the 1709 ‘Scotta’ Stradivari:...

Data shows that instruments follow musicians and the economic trends of our times.

In the 19th century there were two important Stradivari cellos in Russia. The first was the 1712 ‘Davidoff’, the...

Jason Price examines the c. 1720 'Kux, Castelbarco' Stradivari viola, one of only twelve known violas by the celebrated...

Berlin-based historian Joseph Pearson has written a new book about everyday objects that tell stories from the Second World...

There are fewer than a dozen surviving cellos by Pietro Giacomo Rogeri and this example, dating from circa 1715,...

François-Louis Pique, one of the finest French violinmakers of all time, was born in Roissy, near Paris in 1758....

Stradivari’s ‘Golden Period’, the universally acknowledged ne plus ultra of his extraordinary 70-year working life, is centered on the...

The first public record of the ‘da Vinci’ Stradivari is found in the 1881 auction catalog accompanying the collection...

Almost all Stradivari and Guarneri instruments have a nickname. Sometimes these come from a famous musician who played the...

For decades, the history of the ‘Bennett, Reifenberg, Brooks’ eluded scholars even as its stories were hidden in plain...

Last week, I shared an overview of our July sale in New York. Today, I'm going to look more...

Our July auction in New York includes an exciting range of instruments, and this week, I’m pleased to share...

There are roughly half a dozen surviving Guarneri violas, and the ‘Primrose’, dated 1697, the year before Andrea’s death,...

This Sunday, April 25th, we invite you to join us for an online event celebrating the launch of Arcangelo’s...

Any responsible discussion of violin labels begins with a caveat: most labels you will see are false. Refuse to...

Philip J. Kass and Andrea Zanrè are the authors of the forthcoming book Liuteria Mantovana. Based on new research...

'First class. Ranks among the 10 finest specimens in existence.[1] With this sentence Emil Herrmann, like many other experts...

Last week I introduced the Balestrieri, Vuillaume and Testore from our March auction and this week I want to...

In this week’s Carteggio, Tarisio’s founder, expert and director, Jason Price, examines Wihan’s cello, a rare and important instrument...

“Four years ago I had the honor of sitting down with the inimitable Ivry Gitlis for an interview in...

This exceptionally fine 1929 Fagnola violin dates to the maker’s most desirable period. We present it as a highlight...

This spirited violin by Giovanni Pistucci dating from c. 1930 is made as a copy of Raffaele and Antonio...

Marino Capicchioni was born in the Republic of San Marino, at the southern end of the Italian region of...

Marco Dobretsovich was a fine and disciplined maker who kept very much within the confines of his Bolognese training...

In contrast to the scarcity of documents about Bernardo Calcagno’s life, the plentiful number of surviving instruments from his...

How did you fare in our February New York highlights quiz? Full questions and answers here

The story of Beethoven’s quartet of instruments, which was recently reunited at the Beethoven-Haus museum in Bonn

Gioffredo Cappa part 2: Julian Hersh discusses his style, which blends the Amati aesthetic with Piedmontese influences

Gioffredo Cappa part 1: what do we know about the life of this elusive Piedmont maker? By Julian Hersh

Jason Price presents two highlight violins from the November 2019 auction by Giovanni Francesco Pressenda and Carlo Giuseppe Testore

Why is there such a price discrepancy between Vuillaume and his talented contemporaries, asks Marie Turini-Viard

Jason Price introduces a fine Vuillaume cello, highlight of our October auction

Jason Price explores the violas of Guarneri, including the superb c. 1690 ‘Josefowitz’

Andrea Amati part 2: John Dilworth examines his surviving instruments

Jason Price examines the fine 1856 Giuseppe Rocca violin owned by Maud Powell

Jason Price examines the Panormo viola bought by Adolf Busch in 1934

The fairytale story of the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Stradivari violin, by Alessandra Barabaschi

Jason Price introduces the ‘ex-Sinzheimer’ Guadaganini and other June 2018 highlights

The British cello, part 2: the role of the village band in the rise of the instrument

The British cello, part 1: why the instrument became so popular with 18th-century makers

The history of Guilhermina Suggia’s prized 1717 Stradivari cello, by Alessandra Barabaschi

The violins of Henryk Szeryng – and why he gave most of them away, by Tully Potter

The ‘Sun-Law’ Vuillaume donated to the Tarisio Trust by its late owner, Eric Sun

Jason Price and Carlo Chiesa examine the ‘Lachmann Schwechter’ Guadagnini of 1776

The history of the only Stradivari with a Latin inscription, the ‘San Lorenzo’ from 1718

Two fine examples of Santo Serafin’s mature work – a c. 1743 violin and 1740 cello

Late-period Stradivari cellos part 1: the shorter model ‘Bein, Fruh’ of c. 1727

Jason Price takes an Amati to Italy to find out about a 3D scanning process

Jason Price discusses the Tecchler cello played by Guy Johnston

Camilla Wicks talks about her love for the Arthur Smith violin that Ruggerio Ricci gave her

Violinist Alexi Kenney on playing the ‘Joachim, Ma’ Strad; with commentary from Jason Price

Carlo Chiesa examines a rare violin by Giuseppe Caleffi of Modena

Jason Price examines the ex-Enescu Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ c. 1725

Tim Ingles examines a fine 1788 violin by Tommaso Balestrieri of Mantua

Stradivari’s ‘Archinto’ viola and its noble owner, Count Giuseppe Archinto

The young Stradivari part 2 – John Dilworth analyses the master's earliest instruments

The story of the 'Pawle, Benvenuto' Stradivari cello, a petite model from c. 1730

The life and work of Alfred Lanini, who brought Milanese style to California

Alessandra Barabaschi charts the history of Stradivari's 'Lady Inchiquin' violin of 1711

How did G.B. Guadagnini produce such successful cello models? John Dilworth investigates

Danish violin making part 3: lines of influence in the 20th century

Part 2 of Jens Stenz's Danish making survey: the golden era during the 19th century

Jens Stenz on the early Danish violin makers, who survived wars, wood shortages and bankruptcy

Highlights of Canada's Musical Instrument Bank and how it supports young musicians

A recent dendrochronology test that led to a highly exciting set of results

One of the finest 17th-century Stradivari cellos: the 1689 ‘Archinto’

Stradivari Medici quintet part 3: the two instruments that left Florence

Part 2 of our history of the Stradivari ‘Medici’ Quintet: the three instruments in Florence

A mysterious commission: part 1 of a series on Stradivari’s ‘Medici’ Quintet, by Alessandra Barabaschi

How the pioneering Monteverdi opera L'Orfeo paved the way for the cellos of Goffriller

Ten stolen instruments and some dramatic recoveries, including the ‘Ames, Totenberg’ Strad

Stradivari's sons part 2 – detecting their hands in Antonio's work

Highlights from the Paris Musée de la musique’s 7,000+ collection of instruments

Alberto Giordano investigates Paganini's intriguing ‘Il Cannone’ violin

Guarneri 'del Gesù' Part III: the late violins, by John Dilworth and Carlo Chiesa

In Part 2 of their 'del Gesù' survey, John Dilworth and Carlo Chiesa examine his middle period

The life and work of Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ by John Dilworth and Carlo Chiesa, Part 1

Part 1 of Philip J. Kass's survey of the Turin school: the city's earliest violin makers

Jan Strick examines a fine violin by one of the many Matthijs Hofmans of Antwerp

Take a virtual tour of the Museo del Violino in Cremona, with Philip J. Kass

John Dilworth continues his survey of the Stradivari workshop’s violas, part 2

John Dilworth examines Stradivari's violas and asks why he made so few, Part 1

Florian Leonhard shares some recent discoveries about the Gragnani family

Serge Stam examines an elegant Cuijpers violin from 1767

Two instruments from the Guillami family of Barcelona

Who was who in the Tononi family? Roberto Regazzi shares the latest research

The late-Turin Guadagnini violin owned by US teacher Dorothy DeLay

Philip J. Kass examines a Pressenda violin from 1838, a momentous year for Turin's luthiers

A fine and characteristic 1701 cello from Giovanni Grancino of Milan

A violin by the exiled Girolamo Amati II, showing the maker at his strongest

Gregg Alf recalls the experience of copying Ruggiero Ricci’s Guarneri, the ‘Huberman’

An 1828 violin from Pressenda reveals a possible connection to Luigi Tarisio

We examine the influence of Scarampella on the modern Mantuan school, part 2

A typically rugged violin by Stefano Scarampella, who was founder of the modern Mantuan school, part 1

A rare and charming pair of instruments from 19th-century Copenhagen

This c. 1690 Grancino cello was formerly a highlight of the Cooper Collection

Does this 1897 Voller Brothers’ copy of the ‘Vieuxtemps’ Strad include deliberate mistakes?

A characteristic Aldric violin, blending Stradivari’s influence with a French aesthetic

Message in a violin: the intriguing inscription inside a c. 1766 Deconet

An impressive copy of the 'Servais' Stradivari cello by Nicolas Vuillaume of Brussels

Two rare Genoese violins from the early 18th century

A rare and hastily made violin by Modena maker Angelo Soliani

An 1803 Forster cello made on a Stainer model for the Reverend A. Hole

A rare violin by the expert and restorer Simone Sacconi

A fine example from Mantuan maker Camillo Camilli, showing the influence of neighboring Cremona

A 1997 Frédéric Chaudière violin played by Ruggiero Ricci to celebrate his 80th birthday

How a £50 violin by Daniel Parker turned into a ‘Stradivari’

A late-period Amati nicknamed the ‘Spagnoletti’ after an Italian-turned-Spanish virtuoso

The astonishingly well-preserved ‘Lady Blunt’ Stradivarius of 1721

When the 'Lady Blunt' met the 'Messiah' in Oxford

A spectacular example from the supreme exponent of French making, Nicolas Lupot

The ‘Molitor’ Strad, the French socialite and the Napoleon General who gave the violin its name

This handsome Francesco Rugeri takes its name from the Italian child prodigy Maria Milanollo

Two fine Neapolitan violas d’amore in superb condition

Hollywood music mogul George E. Stoll’s fine Amati violin

A petite c. 1760 violin that shows C.F. Landolfi’s excellent capabilities as a maker

The composite 1717 Stradivari cello played by Amaryllis Fleming

A rare violin by the 18th-century Venetian master Francesco Gobetti

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