John Dodd I (1752-1839) spearheaded the development of the modern English bow, going down in music history as “The English Tourte.” Initially a metalworker, Dodd’s career took him to Paris to explore advances in screw mechanisms. There, he encountered François Xavier Tourte and his revolutionary bow model. Dodd switched to bow making around the 1770s …
James Tubbs Rumored to have made over five thousand bows during his career, James Tubbs’ (1835-1921) output stands as some of the best bows of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, rivaling even his most celebrated French contemporaries. Tubbs apprenticed under his father, William Tubbs, before opening his own studio in the 1850s. Around 1858, …
Born to a Mirecourt winemaker and luthier, Joseph Henry received the bulk of his bow-making training in Paris. He moved to the capital at the tender age of fourteen to apprentice under luthier Georges Chanot. Henry honed his craft under Chanot, who like his colleague, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, was not a bow maker but thoroughly appreciated …
How Much Should I Spend on My Cello Bow? You put a lot of care and thought into choosing your cello; your bow deserves the same attention. But how much do cello bows normally cost? There is no simple answer to this question. Your cello bow cost will vary based on your needs, including your …
The Cost of a Cello Bow – How much should you spend? Read More »
Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri, also known as ‘filius Andrea,’ was the second son of Andrea Guarneri. He assisted his father for nearly twenty years and, upon his father’s death in 1698, inherited his father’s workshop. While his reputation as a maker is overshadowed by other family members, and by his contemporary, Stradivari, Giuseppe still managed …
Giuseppe Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’ – Violin Maker (1666 – 1740) Read More »
The Nürnberger family workshop in Markneukirchen produced a large output of high-quality bows from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. Although the bows were made by multiple family members, many of them bear the label “Albert Nürnberger,” created when Franz Albert Nürnberger II (1854-1931) formalized the family brand. While already a part of an …
Jacob Eury, sometimes mistakenly known as Nicolas Eury, was born in Mirecourt and began his training as a violin-maker under his father, François. However, Eury quickly shifted to bow-making. His burgeoning career was interrupted by the Napoleonic Wars, but after he returned from military service, Eury may have apprenticed under Jean “Grand” Adam. Eury moved …
What is the Range of the Cello? The cello’s full range of more than four octaves gives it one of the most expansive ranges of any instrument you can play. At the bottom, the deep bass tones of its C string sit two octaves below middle C. The middle two strings of the cello, …
Cello Range – one of the most expansive ranges of any instrument Read More »
Santo Serafin was born in 1699 in Udine, Friuli, close to Venice and may have received his initial training there with Francessco Goffriler before moving to Venice in 1721. His earliest labels date from 1725, although he had not yet established his own workshop, thus suggesting that he was working in other Venetian workshops. In …
Annibale Fagnola, considered one of the finest Italian violin makers of the early 20th century, was born in 1865 in Montiglio Monferrato, near Turin. Starting out his career as a self-taught guitar maker in his hometown, he eventually moved to Turin in 1893 and apprenticed under the guidance of violin maker Romano Rimaldi. In 1899, …
