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Posts : 1970 Join date : 27/03/2010 Location : San Pedro, Laguna
Subject: January 2011 - Baroque Violins by Gagliano Mon Jan 03, 2011 5:53 pm
Nicola Gagliano [pronounced as galyano] and Joseph Gagliano
Due to violinists favouring the violins of Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati, a considerable number of Violins by Gagliano have never undergone "neck hackings" done to old violins in the early 1800s. Around 1830s, many Baroque Violins went through "Neck Replacements". The old baroque necks, much thicker, straight angled and shorter were chopped off and replaced with thinner longer necks with a downward angle which are suited to play 1800s style music in large concert halls.
Evaristo Baschenis paints what were probably Violins by Amati in the 1660s
As a result, many baroque violinist today covet his instruments which have retained their Original Necks. Noted baroque violinists playing on Gagliano violins are Andrew Manze and Rachel Barton-Pine. Below is a picture of Rachel's violin.
The baroque violin is a 1770 Nicola Gagliano in completely original condition. The tailpiece and fingerboard were made for me by Whitney Osterud and modeled on the “Medici Stradivari.” The instrument is strung with gut strings and usually tuned to A=415. I chose this violin partly from a desire for greater authenticity, but mainly because this instrument and setup bring me closest to the concept of sound that I envision for my interpretations of repertoire from the 1600s and 1700s.
Andrew Manze plays Bach's Violin Concerto on his Joseph Gagliano
Strings Magazine's Interview with Andrew Manze
Andrew Manze plays on two violins, a 1663 Girolamo Amati and a Gagliano, ca. 1700. "I'm traveling with the Gagliano," he explains. "It's from what they call ‘School of Amati.' It's quite bright and open in sound, compared to the Amati, which is warmer. It's easier to play with an orchestra; somehow it projects better. When I'm not traveling and I'm playing chamber music, I use the Amati, because there is no direct competition in that register.
"With 17th-century music, you need to be able to bend sound almost, to twist it to your purposes, to find different colors of sound yet be able to get from one color to another easily. The expression can change from measure to measure. The Amati is good at that. In 18th-century music, there are more blocks of expression. I find the Gagliano better for the more sustained lines and the Amati for twisting and turning. Still, it's not as tidy as that. I often change in a program.
"I got the Gagliano during the Gulf War, at an auction in London at a time when there were a lot of terrorist threats," he continues. "A lot of Americans didn't travel at the time—nor did the Japanese—so the salesrooms were quite empty those few months. I was very lucky, as were many British violinists at that time. The Gagliano is not the most beautiful instrument: it has a lot of blemishes in the wood. It looks as though someone stubbed cigarettes out on it. For its time it was probably a low-quality violin; of the ones coming out of the Gagliano workshop, it was probably third-rate, a budget violin. But I'm not complaining. It works, and it sounds so good. It was restored for me by Frederick Lindeman, one of the great experts at 'Baroquing' violins, in Amsterdam."
