How well do you know the history of the violin?
Today’s violin owes its existence to an ancient instrument known as the lira, which was used in Europe as early as the 9th century. It was played in an upright position and bowed. The influence of the Arabian rabab and the rebec (which emerged in Spain) are also seen in the violin.
This early stringed instrument evolved over time in Europe into two separate families of the instrument: those that were held in the arms and square in shape (“lira da braccio”) and those that were positioned between the legs and shaped with sloped shoulders (“lira da gamba”). They both enjoyed great success and wide use, but over time the instruments held in the arms became more popular and led to the development of the violin in and around 1550.
The classic master period of Italian violin making stretched from the 16th to the 18th century. Famous luthiers included the Guarneri, Amati, da Salo, Ruggieri and Micheli families along with Antonio Stradivari and Jacob Stainer, among others. Though players have preserved many of these treasured violins through the years, they are in limited supply and worth astronomical amounts today.
Northern Italy had two regions that excelled in luthier skill in the earlier part of this 200 year “golden era” range: Brescia and Cremona. Milan and Venice also were important locations for stringed instrument building. Brescia was the first to emerge, and its famous stringed instrument school and workshop bred a generation of innovat