‘Benno Rabinof’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’, c. 1742

When Liza Ferschtman talks about finding the c. 1742 ‘Benno Rabinof’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ she’s playing this evening, she refers to it as an arranged marriage with a shotgun wedding. But given the happy ending we could also call it a fairytale. Several years ago, the violin that Ferschtman was previously playing was recalled by its owner on short notice and the ‘Benno Rabinof’ was presented as a possible replacement. But there wasn’t much room for error as Ferschtman was to perform the Brahms violin concerto in the Concertgebouw just two days after playing the ‘Benno Rabinof’ for the first time. Many violinists will tell you the courtship and adjustment period takes time and effort but sometimes, as Fertschman explains, “we meet partners and just hit it off”.

it was an arranged marriage with a shotgun wedding

In 1740-45 when this violin was made, Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ and his contemporary, Carlo Bergonzi, were the last of the classical violinmakers active in Cremona, but their work in this half decade has left us some of the most prized treasures in the history of violinmaking. Nicolo Paganini, Yehudi Menuhin, Eugene Ysaÿe, Ole Bull, Isaac Stern and dozens of other legendary musicians all played on Guarneris made within a year or two of the ‘Benno Rabinof’. Cremona was in its twilight, but there hasn’t been a period before or since that has left us instruments more in demand than these last years of ‘del Gesù’’s life.

Commentary by Jason Price

Liza Ferschtman, Wigmore Hall, Saturday 30 December 2017