vation, pedigree, etc. A good Andreas | art may be said to have died. Stradi

varius lived before his day, for he was born in 1644, but there is good reason for supposing that Guarnerius was working for some years after Stradivarius, a veteran of over ninety, had

Amati, more suitable for chamber than
for ordinary concert use, can be got for
501. Andreas, who died about 1577,
was the founder of the Amati family.
Very few authentic instruments of his
make are extant, and those that do ex-made his last violin.
ist are not in a high state of preserva-
tion. Nicolas, the grandson, was the
most eminent of the name, and he is,
besides, deserving of special honor as
having been the master of Stadivarius.
Although he worked as a rule on the
small pattern adopted by the rest of the
Amatis, he made some very fine large
violins the so-called "grand Amatis"
which are almost worshipped in
these days, and which hold the field in
the matter of prices. Even during his
lifetime his instruments were in high
repute. Charles IX. of France gave
him an order for twelve violins, six
violas and six 'cellos, for his private
band. Before the French Revolution
(1789) most of these instruments could
be seen in the Chapel Royal, but after
the days of the 5th and 6th of October,
1790, they all mysteriously disappeared,
and their subsequent history is uncer-
tain. One of them, a 'cello, was sold
in the early years of the century to Sir
William Curtis; it was put up at five
hundred guineas, and bought in at two
hundred and eighty. In 1872 the in-
strument belonged to the Rev. A. H.
Bridges, who showed it in the Loan
Exhibition of that year.

In Stradivarius and Guarnerius del Jesu we reach the zenith of perfection in violin-making. The Guarnerius family, like the Amatis, consisted of several distinct makers whose work is often confused. They all form au important branch of the Cremona school; but when violinists speak of a Guarnerius they mean an instrument by the last of the race, to wit, the Joseph Guarnerius who was born in 1687, and who is designated "del Jesu" from the curious habit he had of putting a cross and the letters I.H.S. on his labels. Guarnerius del Jesu stands next to Stradivarius himself as the greatest violin-maker the world has ever seen; and it is with him that the

The

To write about Stradivarius with the enthusiasm felt by the lover of old violins is not easy. His tone is so inimitable that it must send the veriest gut-scraper into raptures; you cannot hear it in the instruments of any other maker. The perfect workmanship, the kind and quality of the varnish, the choice of the wood, the degree of thickness of back and front, the height of the sides and arching, the exact relation of every part of the instrument, all combine in works of genius which to this day remain unequalled, and will probably remain unequalled to the end of time. Stradivarius knew nothing of the storm and stress of life. He took things easy and made everything with his own hands. He gave endless labor to the details of his instruments, and finished everything beautifully. insides of his violins are as perfect as the outsides - all the tiny blocks, ribs, and slips of wood for strengthening the sides are without roughness, and the weight of each is as carefully adjusted as if he had been going to receive its equivalent in gold. His imitators have gone to work with a microscope, and have fancied that by copying his measurements and other details, they could turn out exactly similar instruments, but they did not sound the same; the proportions were there, but the subtle genius of the workman was absent. And Stradivarius remains STRADIVARIUS, the man whose very name sends a thrill of delight through the breast of all who "take up the fiddle and the bow" - the man who two hundred years ago put together those little bits of wood which to-day are competed for with a daring recklessness of expenditure which puts every other branch of collecting into the shade. Everybody wants a Strad., and when everybody gets one he wants the world to know. And the world delights in the knowl

TRE

edge; for it is not like Joseph Hatton, changed hands at the phenomenal
the song writer, who was so incensed figure of 2,000l. Let us deal with this
because a violinist advertised that he instrument, and afterwards with some
would play on a five-hundred-guinea of the higher priced Cremonas in the
instrument, that he intimated his own possession of our professionals and
intention to sing "Old King Cole" in collectors.
a pair of Moses's ten-and-six trousers !
It must not be supposed, however,
that Stradivarius has always been the
rage. Even in violin collecting there
are fashions and fads. At first, when
Italian instruments began to be sought
for-i.e., about the beginning of the
present century-every player wanted
an Amati. An Amati could then be
bought for about 30l., for there was a
good supply in existence; but of course
as the demand increased so did the
prices. Then there was a craze for
instruments by Stainer, the founder of
the German school of violin-making,
and genuine Stainers, which are now
of the utmost rarity, went up far be-
yond their intrinsic value. Again, De
Beriot, the Belgian violinist, began to
play on a Maggini, and Magginis were
soon leading the way in popularity and
price. Before this date a Maggini
might have been bought for 107.; now
the price went up to 1007. De Beriot's
own instrument, it is said, was sold for
600l., a sum ridiculously in excess of
the value of any Maggini ever made.
Genuine Magginis are not very common
now. They have really many excellent
qualities, but the tone is grave and
even melancholy. It was Paganini
who discovered Guarnerius to the
violin world. He got hold of an in-
strument by that maker, and although
Paganini — whose playing was more
trick than tone would have done
almost equally well with any make of
violin, the enthusiasts credited the in-
strument with half of the player's
power, and Guarnerius violins at once
became the fashion. Meanwhile Stra-
divarius was working up a steady and
an assured popularity which, as we
shall see presently, has been fully
maintained, and is likely to grow with
the years.
His prices are quite the
highest; and whereas he received only
about 41. for his violins when finished,
a specimen of his make has recently.

A pretty romantic story is this of the 2,000l. fiddle! Violin-makers now and again come upon pieces of wood of phenomenal resonance and beauty, and when they do, we may be sure they give special care to the making and finishing of the instrument formed of that wood. Stradivarius at any rate did. In 1716, he had a piece of luck in this particular, and his luck went into an instrument with which he fell so much in love that he absolutely refused to sell it or to allow it to be played upon by any hands but his own. He kept it locked up, and when he died at the advanced age of ninety-three, he bequeathed it to his sons. By and by an enthusiastic collector named Salabue got on the scent of the instrument, and about the year 1760 he acquired it- at what figure is not known—from one of the great man's sons. Salabue cherished it until his death about 1827, and then a strange character appears on the scene as purchaser. This was an eccentric old fellow named Luigi Tarisio, who, abandoning his trade as a carpenter, had started collecting old violins, and was now searching in every nook and corner of Italy for the treasures of Cremona. He could neither read nor write, this enthusiastic collector, but he could tell a valuable fiddle the moment he saw it, and he estimated the worth of the Salabue Strad. so well that after he had acquired it he kept it to himself with all the loving care that its maker had already shown for it. Tarisio lived entirely alone in a wretched garret in Milan ; and one day in the year 1854, his neighbors found him lying dead among a confused heap of Cremonas. The old man had amassed a collection of some two hundred and fifty instruments, the re

sult of a thirty years' hunt; " and

although he had started life a penniless carpenter, he died worth about 12,0007. Well, there was in Paris at this time

-

a certain high priest of fiddle-making | form of the instrument is incompar named Vuillaume, already mentioned. able; all the curves and outlines are He knew something about Tarisio and drawn with indescribable skill and his wonderful collection, and when he grace; and there is a perfection of heard of the veteran's death he at once workmanship in every detail which is set off for Milan to see about purchas- simply matchless. Messrs. Hill write ing the instruments. And he did pur- regarding the instrument: "It is the chase them-the whole two hundred fiddle of Europe, of fabulous newness and fifty, including, of course, the Sala- of appearance and state of preservabue Strad. for the purely nominal tion. It is a famous possession, and sum of 3,1661. ! What he did with the absolutely unique, which can be truthtwo hundred and forty-nine does not fully applied to but few works of art. concern us at present; the thing to be The names of its possessors will cernoted is that he, too, like all its pre- tainly be handed down to posterity. vious owners, refused to part with the We feel proud to have been entrusted "Salabue" at any price. He kept it with the negotiations for its purchase, till his death, in 1875, and so anxious and consider it the greatest honor we was he for its safety that during the have yet had conferred on us. We beFranco-German war he had it buried, lieve it is but a question of a few years, case and all, in a damp-proof, air-tight and it will fetch a considerably higher box, and did not unearth it until peace price." Mr. Crawford has a second had been proclaimed ! From Vuil- Strad. and also a very fine Guarnerius, laume the treasure descended to M. and he has a picture-gallery containing Alard, the great French violinist, who paintings worth about 100,000l., includpaid 1,000l. for it-only to look at it, ing two by Meissonier. Others may as it appears, for he was so charmed equal him in all these, but they can with the varnish that he seldom used never equal his 2,000l. fiddle, and he the instrument lest he should spoil the has every right to feel proud of the gloss. Alard died in 1888, and two circumstance. years later the instrument was sold by his heirs Messrs. Hill acting as agents in the matter to its present owner, Mr. R. Crawford, of Trinity, Edinburgh, for 2,000l. The high figure perfectly astonished the violin world. As recently as 1872 Charles Reade had valued the instrument at 6007.- and, by the way, thought so much of its varnish that he declared the violin would be worth just 351. without it!

But there is good reason for the high figure. The instrument is the only one from the hands of Stradivarius that has come down in a condition of perfect preservation. Its glowing, ruddy varnish is as fresh as if it had been only put on a week ago, and it unites in itself all the higher qualities which a violin should possess strength, sweetness, roundness, delicacy, and a distinguished and incisive tone. When Joachim tried it he at once declared that in beauty of tone it surpassed all the other violins he had ever heard. Nor is it a matter of tone only. The

And now let us see about some more ordinary yet remarkable instruments. Dr. Joachim, who is as well known in England as in his native Germany, is the happy possessor of four Strads. In this respect he is probably unique, for the man who hoards up a collection of violins for the mere selfish pleasure of possessing them has almost disappeared, tempted no doubt by the recent phenomenal rise in prices. There used to be some seven or eight very fine collections of old Italian instruments, but these have long since been dispersed, and the rare fiddles are now, for the most part, in the hands of professional artists who, instead of boxing them up in glass cases in private houses, give the benefit of their superior tone to the musical public at large. Such an artist is Joseph Joachim. One of his best instruments was presented to him by public subscription in celebration of his artistic jubilee, and cost 1,2001. Herr Waldemar Meyer's Strad. was also purchased for him by a number of

English friends, the price paid being, I believe, 1,250l. M. Tivadar Nachez is another Strad. owner, his instrument having cost him 1,000l.

who died last year, was a pupil of Pa-
ganini, and Paganiui presented him
when a youth with a very fine Guarne-
rius instrument.
It was, therefore,
but natural that Sivori should wish his
violin to rest beside Paganini's, and so
to-day for a small fee you can see both
instruments in the municipal niche at
Genoa.

The beauty and sweetness of Sarasate's tone are often commented on by people who never think of the tone | being in any way due to the fineness of this instrument. As a matter of fact, Sarasate has two Strads. One is the Lady Hallé said not so long ago to an renowned "Boissier" Strad., which he interviewer that violins can be turned managed to secure in Paris for 1,000l., out by the "modern master maker” an hour or two before Hill of London | quite as good as those of the old Cresent an offer for it; the other is one mona school. There may be some that had been used by Paganini, which reservation in the "can be;" but at fest came to him through his son Achille. any rate Lady Hallé herself has never Of course, the latter instrument has an given much practical encouragement to additional value from the circumstance the modern master maker. She plays of its former ownership. Paganini had on a Strad. dated 1709, which the several valuable violins, and the instru- dealers would probably value at somement which he used in his later years thing like 1,000l., since it, too, has a pedigree.

a Guarnerius, dated 1743-would The instrument belonged probably command something like formerly to Ernst, the celebrated vir5,000l. if it could be put in the market tuoso, whose widow parted with it for now; indeed, the sum of 2,4001. has a sum a little under 500l. Ernst had it already been offered for it and refused, from one of our earliest English coland a report was lately circulated that lectors, Mr. Andrew Fountain, of Nar10,000l. had been tried. But the in- ford, Norfolk; and when it came to strument cannot be sold. Paganini Lady Hallé it was in the hands of Mr. himself bequeathed it to the city of David Laurie, of Glasgow. She got it Genoa, and the municipal authorities in rather a lucky way. She was just there are keenly alive to the value of negotiating with Mr. Laurie about its the treasure. They have it bestowed purchase, and had the instrument on in a glass case in the recess of a trial, when one evening the Duke of wall, which is again encased in heavy | Edinburgh — who, by the way, has French plate-glass, the whole being himself a valuable Strad., as well as closed by a massive door. Every two two instruments by Guarnerius — heard months the seals are broken, and the her play on it at a private house. The violin is played upon for about half an duke was so charmed with the instru hour in the presence of city officials, ment, that on learning it was for sale and then it is replaced and put under he declared to Lady Hallé that if she municipal seal. This, of course, is did not complete the purchase he would done to keep the instrument in good buy the violin himself. Lady Hallé condition. Paganini came by the vio-good-humoredly protested against this lin in a curious way. A French mer- determination; and in the end his chant lent him the instrument to play | Royal Highness combined with the late upon at a concert at Leghorn. After Earl of Dudley and the late Lord Hardthe concert, Paganini brought it back wick in purchasing and presenting the to its owner, when the latter ex-instrument to the eminent violinist. claimed, to the delighted astonishment Sir Charles Hallé, from whom I have of the player, "Never more will I pro- these particulars, remarks that the infane the strings which your fingers strument is still in a state of "perfect have touched; that instrument preservation." yours." The Genoa people have been in luck in the matter of violius. Sivori,

is

There are, of course, many other Strads. with a history, the which if one

66

Again, the highest sale-room figure for a Guarnerius was the six hundred guineas paid for the instrument sold in 1876, and now used by M. Ysaye, the great Belgian violinist.

were to tell it would fill a volume and | Strad., in a state of almost perfect more. There is, for example, the preservation, produced only 8601., and "Tuscan" Strad., made by the master this was an auction-room record. in 1690. In 1794 this instrument was sold to an Irish amateur for 251. This gentleman's grandson sold it in 1876 for 2401. to Mr. Ricardo, who in turn sold it to Messrs. Hill in 1888 for 1,000l. From this firm it passed to its present Of Strad. 'cellos there are only a few owner, who is said to have refused in existence, and, quite apart from 2,000l. for it. Thus have the prices price, they are practically unobtainable. risen. Then there is the "Betts" Mr. Forster tells on very good authorStrad., whose record price was broken ity that Stradivarius once sent over only by Mr. Crawford's treasure. Betts some instruments to England on sale, was a music-seller in London some and that they were taken back because sixty years ago, and he actually bought the merchant was unable to get as this instrument over the counter from much as 51. for a 'cello. One is at first a stranger for a guinea! He soon inclined to rate the amateurs of those found out its value, and nothing would days for their stupidity until he rememinduce him to part with it, though he bers that time had then done nothing was more than once offered 500l. for it. for the perfection of these instruments. Ultimately, some years after the death Nowadays, at any rate, there is no diffiof Betts, Mr. George Hart purchased it culty. Mr. Franchomme sold his 'cello for eight hundred guineas. It was now for 1,600l.; and the "Batta " 'cello was that Charles Reade went into raptures bought by Hill in 1893 for the perfectly about the instrument. Eight hun- fabulous figure of 3,2001. ! This latter dred guineas," he said, "seems a long instrument belonged to M. Alexandre price for a dealer to give, but, after all, Batta, of Paris, and both he and his here is a violin, a picture, and a miracle 'cello were as household words in the all in one; and big diamonds increase musical world of Paris for the last in number, but these spoils of time are fifty years. He bought the instrument limited forever now." Mr. Hart sold from a French dealer in 1836 for the instrument in 1886, and quite re- seventy-five hundred francs, a sum cently it again changed hands at not which was then considered highly much less than 2,000l. From a guinea extravagant. Twenty years ago a colto 2,000l. in sixty years! There is a lector offered him fifty thousand francs romance of reality about that. The for it, and later on a French duke "Gillott" Strad., now in the posses- tempted him with just twice that sion of a Leeds collector, is so named amount. Now, being a man of eighty, because it was once the property of the he has parted with his treasure eminent pen-maker. Sixty years ago it was in Mr. Fountain's collection. It is now valued by experts at 1,000l., and yet, when it was sold at Christie's in 1872, after Gillott's death, it brought Signor Piatti has a magnificent Strad. only 2907. "amid great excitement." 'cello, of date 1720. It is known as the The low price might, however, be ac"red 'cello" because of the very rich counted for in this case by the fact of red tint of its varnish. This, too, is an so many instruments as Gillott pos- instrument with a history - a history sessed being thrown on the market at which the signor has courteously sent the same time. Still, it is a curious from the shores of the Lake of Como. circumstance that the highest prices The instrument was first brought to are never secured in the sale room. At England by a Spanish wine merchant, Puttick & Simpson's in 1893 a remark- who placed it for sale with a Regent able violin, known as the "Ames "Street dealer, asking 1501. for it. For

not

without a pang, as those who saw him kiss the instrument reverently in the train before Mr. Hill started for Eugland with it could best realize.