Matteo Goffriller – Violin Maker (c.1659-1742)

Matteo Goffriller (c.1659-1742) is the father of Venetian violin making. Born in the town of Bressanone (Brixen) in Tyrol, a region around the Italian-Austrian border, Goffriller may have received his initial training from Matthias Albani. In 1685, Goffriller moved to Venice to apprentice under Mathias Kaiser, another Tyrolean violin maker. He became very close with the Kaisers, marrying Mathias Kaiser’s daughter, Maddalena, and taking over the family workshop in 1690.

Goffriller went on to dominate Venice’s stringed instrument scene, including supplying instruments for Antonio Vivaldi’s students at the Ospedale della Pietà. His instruments incorporate some elements of the Cremonese school, but his distinctive deep red varnish would become the hallmark of the Venetian style for generations to come. Goffriller trained the next generation of Venetian violin makers, including Domenico Montagnana, Santo Serafin, Carlo Tononi, Francesco Gobetti, and Peitro Guarneri the younger. Despite his importance to music history, Goffriller fell into obscurity after his death. However, his instruments were rediscovered in the 1920s, and they have remained highly sought after by modern performers and collectors alike.