J.B. Vuillaume, Paris, 1866

Jean Baptiste Vuillaume (1798–1875) was one of the first violin makers to capitalize on the idea of making new instruments that look like old masters. Paris in the 19th century had gone crazy for old Italian instruments by makers like Stradivari and Guarneri but then, as now, not everyone could afford an 18th-century original.

Vuillaume began producing copies of specific instruments in the early 1840s and seems to have found a unique and lucrative niche. Among his most successful copies were his interpretations of the ‘Alard’ and ‘Messiah’ Stradivari and the ‘Panette’ and ‘Cannon’ Guarneri violins. For his finest copies Vuillaume imitated not only the model of the instrument but also chose wood that matched the original and gave them a patina which mimicked a hundred years of use. In the 150 years since Vuillaume the best copyists in the fiddle business have gone several next levels – today’s copyists simulate each scratch and blemish on the original and even go so far as to replicate repairs and restorations.

The violin that Vilde Frang plays this evening was made by Vuillaume in 1866. It is a copy of the 1716 ‘Messiah’ Stradivari, which was acquired by Vuillaume in 1855 and inspired many of his finest copies. Unlike his other copies, however, Vuillaume finished them without substantial antiquing, as the original ‘Messiah’ was virtually unused in the time of Vuillaume, as it is today. The choice of narrow-flamed maple, the wide-set and slightly angled soundholes and the rich, amber-coloured varnish closely follow the original.

Commentary by Jason Price.

Vilde Frang, Wigmore Hall, Sunday 13 October