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, from expert commentary on historic instruments and bows, to interviews with musicians and analysis of the string market. Contributors include Carlo Chiesa, John Dilworth, Philip J. Kass, Dmitry Gindin, Pierre Guillaume, Paul Childs, Alessandra Barabaschi and many other experts.

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Latest Feature

Paavo Berglund

Our June sale features a violin owned by the Finnish conductor Paavo Berglund (1929–2012), who championed Sibelius, loved football and collected fine instruments

By Marie Turini-Viard

Paavo Berglund’s first encounter with a violin, aged six or seven, was not auspicious. It was a small instrument that his grandfather had made for him but, according to Paavo’s son, Juha Berglund, the boy was unable to play it: ‘He could not use it and he really felt he was cursed for some reason...’

Eugenio Praga, the gentleman–luthier who became the first curator of the Paganini ’Cannon’ violin

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

Ornati and Garimberti part 2: a comparison of their work, by Dmitry Gindin

Giuseppe Ornati and Ferdinando Garimberti, part 1: Milan’s finest 20th-century makers

Zheng Quan pays tribute to his former teacher, Gio Batta Morassi

Jan Špidlen shares the story of his great-grandfather František Špidlen’s career

The Mantegazza family of Milan, whose clients included Nicolò Paganini, Alessandro Rolla and Count Cozio

The Roman violin maker Rodolfo Marchini speaks candidly about his teacher, Giuseppe Lucci

Oddone, Fagnola and Guerra part 2: what makes their work stand out from their contemporaries?

Dmitry Gindin examines the place of Giulio Degani in the Veneto violin making school

New research into life of Giulio Degani after his emigration to the US in 1915

The story of Thomas Wenberg’s epic journey across America to interview violin makers

A rare letter written by J.B. Vuillaume just after the Paris Commune of 1871

John Dilworth goes in search of the Bologna priest nicknamed ‘Dom Nicolo Amati’

Late-period Stradivari cellos part 2: the B piccola model ‘Vaslin Composite’

François-Louis Pique part 2: his adoption of the Stradivari style

The career of François-Louis Pique, who lived through the French Revolution

Dmitry Gindin puts the fine work of Enrico Marchetti in context

Violinist Ittai Shapira looks back on 20 years with his 1745 Guadagnini

Philip J. Kass shares new findings about Giuseppe Ceruti’s move to Mantua in 1838

An interview with veteran Cremona maker Francesco Bissolotti

Dimitri Musafia explains why a violin case found in Milan was probably made in the Stradivari workshop

Dmitry Gindin explores the work of Ettore Soffritti and the Ferrara school

Nikolai Kittel part 2: the later work of the Russian bow maker

Some new and unexpected details about N.L. Tourte and his two wives

Part 2 of John Dilworth’s analysis of Carlo Bergonzi’s life and work

The life of the enigmatic Cremonese maker Carlo Bergonzi, by John Dilworth

Examining the place of Nikolai Kittel in 19th-century Russia, by Klaus Grünke and Josef Gabriel

Stefan Hersh examines a fine 1740 cello by the Venetian Santo Serafin

In a candid interview Renato Scrollavezza looks back over his long career

The life of Jago Peternella, a prolific yet restless maker who worked in seven different cities

An exclusive interview with Cremona’s G.B. Morassi, by Paul Sadka

Dmitry Gindin explains why Vincenzo Sannino’s work is so full of personality

Brescia part 2 – Maggini, Rogeri and the later Brescian makers

How the early Brescia school developed in parallel with Cremona, by John Dilworth

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

The life of Bologna maker Otello Bignami, by Roberto Regazzi

Dmitry Gindin explores the life of renegade maker Gaetano Sgarabotto

The life of Guarneri 'filius Andreae', born 350 years ago, by Claudio Amighetti

Dmitry Gindin on the Milanese maker Celeste Farotti and his nephew Celestino Farotto

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

Who taught Antonio Stradivari? John Dilworth looks at the evidence

Dmitry Gindin explains why Enrico Rocca struggled to establish himself in Genoa

The Englishman who became Australia’s foremost 20th-century violin maker: A.E. Smith

Rudolph Hopfner investigates the history of Vienna's violin making tradition

Füssen part 2: why its instrument making declined in the 18th century

Rudolf Hopfner explores the early history of Füssen's instrument makers

The contribution of the Gemünder family to early American violin making

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

Dmitry Gindin explores why the brothers Antoniazzi are such important figures in Italian violin making

From egg supplier to violin maker: the life of Gaetano Gadda, by Dmitry Gindin

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

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

Dmitry Gindin discusses the 20th-century masterpieces of Mantua's Stefano Scarampella

The influence of Ira and Asa Warren White on the early New England making tradition

The life and tragic death of prolific Brooklyn maker William Wilkanowski

This self-rehairing bow by Persoit provides the missing link with Vuillaume

A webchat with violin maker Sam Zygmuntowicz on the subject of sound production

Simone Sacconi part 2: why his copies are still recognisable as his own work

Part 2 of our history of the Medici Strad quintet: the three instruments in Florence

Dmitry Gindin looks at the life of Simone Sacconi in the first of a two-part feature

The rare Spanish court maker Vincente Assensio, by Jorge Pozas

Part 4 of Philip J. Kass's Turin school survey: the 20th century, Fagnola and Oddone

Dmitry Gindin's survey of Cremonese influence part 2: the explosion of copying in the 19th century

Stradivari's earliest followers: part 1 of Dmitry Gindin's survey of Cremonese influence

Philip J. Kass continues his Turin survey with part 3: the 19th-century from Pressenda to Rinaldi

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

John Dilworth goes in search of Stradivari's sons, part 1

The mysterious maker Nikolai Kittel and his lavish bows

Daniel Brückner examines the fine bows of Franz Albert Nürnberger Junior

Part 2 of our Turin series by Philip J. Kass: the Guadagnini family

Guarneri 'del Gesù' Part IV: Carlo Chiesa and John Dilworth search for the man behind the myths

Charles Beare shares memories of his friend Jacqueline du Pré and her cellos

Memories of the American expert and former Wurlitzer manager Dario D'Attili

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 later prolific years of Leandro Bisiach, by Dmitry Gindin, Part 2

Dmitry Gindin looks at how Leandro Bisiach became Italy's answer to Vuillaume

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

A rare 1920s film featuring James Reynold Carlisle and the young Rembert Wurlitzer

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

Pierre Guillaume explains how a bow stamped 'Bonnard' led to the discovery of a forgotten maker

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

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

They mystery of how many Stradivari moulds actually survive from Count Cozio's collection

New research by Andrew Fairfax into the life and travels of Vincenzo Panormo

Florian Leonhard shares some recent discoveries about the Gragnani family

Part 2 of Carlo Chiesa's life of Nicolò Amati

Carlo Chiesa examines the life and legacy of Nicolò Amati, Part 1

The life of talented bow maker Charles Leggatt, whose career was cut short by World War I

Serge Stam examines an elegant Cuijpers violin from 1767

How the work of Pajeot and Simon influenced bow maker Peter Oxley's own design

Two instruments from the Guillami family of Barcelona

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

A fine violin probably made by Alessandro d'Espine

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

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

Gregg Alf on the experience of copying Ruggiero Ricci's Guarneri

We examine the influence of Scarampella on the modern Mantuan school

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

A typically rugged 1905 violin by Scarampella, founder of the modern Mantuan school

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?

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

A rare Forster cello made on a Stainer model for the Reverend 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 fascinating example of a cello made by Cremonese neighbours Bergonzi and Storioni

How a £50 violin by Daniel Parker turned into a 'Stradivari'

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

Why the ‘Primrose’ Guarneri viola has inspired both players and makers for centuries

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

A rare Vuillaume workshop picture bow with a lens in the eye of the frog

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

Two fine Neapolitan viola d’amores 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

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

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