Domenico Montagnana (24 June 1686 – 6 March 1750) was an Italian master luthier based in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, Italy. He is regarded as one of the finest

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

makers of his time. His pieces, particularly his cellos, are sought after by orchestras, notable musicians or collectors, and many form parts of collections in museums. The record price for this luthier was $903,924 in 2010 for a violin.

Biography

Montagnana was born in

Lendinara Lendinara is a ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo, Veneto, northern Italy. It is part of the historical and geographical region of Polesine. It is the birthplace of Domenico Montagnana (1680–1750), one of the world's finest violin and ce ...

, Italy in 1686. His father, Paolo, was a shoemaker. He made stringed musical instruments (

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

s and

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

es) in Venice. He was apprenticed in Matteo Sella's workshop (probably also associated with

Matteo Goffriller Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) was a Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos. He was active between 1685–1735 and was the founder of the " Venetian School" of luthiers, during a time when Venice was one of the most imp ...

) and after that he opened his own shop, active from 1712, located in Calle degli Stagneri, with insignia "Alla Cremona". Typically 1cm shorter than a "forma B" cello made by

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are c ...

, and 2cm wider between the C bouts, the signature sound of a Montagnana cello is "uncomplicated" to play (according to

Jacqueline du Pré Jacqueline Mary du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was a British cellist. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. Her care ...

's description of the Montagnana cello played by Martin Lovett of the Amadeus Quartet ). One can hit the bow hard on a Montagnana cello while playing, and the sound will continue to come out and become more interesting. As a contrast, for a

cello, in general, you have to coax it out (based on a famous description of

Davidov Stradivarius The ''Davidov Stradivarius'' (also: ''Davidoff'' or ''Davydov''; russian: Давыдов), is an antique cello made in 1712 by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, Italy. It is very similar in construction and form to the equally famed '' ...

reputedly made by

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

: "Jackie's unbridled dark qualities went against the Davydov. You have to coax the instrument. The more you attack it, the less it returns"). Montagnana met a Venetian woman living in the Calle degli Stagneri/Santo Bartolomeo district, Caterina Berti, whom he married. The couple lived in Venice and had six daughters. Following the birth of their last child, Caterina began suffering from progressive paralysis, which eventually led to her death in 1748. It seems that this final blow was too much for Montagnana, who until then had been seeking refuge in his workshop and spending much longer time than usual on the meticulous details of his instruments. His health began to decline rapidly, for unspecified causes and, by February 1750, he was bedridden. His death certificate states that he died after being confined to his bed for one month with " hypochondria". He died in Venice, Italy in 1750. His workshop was then inherited by Giorgio Serafin, the nephew of Sanctus Seraphin.

Legacy

Many of his pieces are still in circulation, used by famous musicians or are part of public or private collections. Artists who play or have played on Montagnanas include Guilhermina Suggia, Stephen Kates,

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigra ...

, Lynn Harrell,

Mischa Maisky Mischa Maisky ( lv, Miša Maiskis, he, מישה מייסקי, russian: Миша Майский; born 10 January 1948) is a Soviet-born Israeli cellist. Biography Mischa Maisky was born in 1948 in Riga and is the younger brother of organist, har ...

Truls Mørk Truls Olaf Otterbech Mørk (born 25 April 1961) is a Norwegian cellist. Biography Mørk was born in Bergen, Norway to a cellist father, John Fritjof Mørk, and a pianist mother, Turid Otterbech. His mother began teaching him the piano when he w ...

, Alfred Wallenstein, Josef Roismann,

Steven Isserlis Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse reper ...

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, Paul Watkins,

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Emanuel Feuermann Emanuel Feuermann (November 22, 1902 – May 25, 1942) was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century. Life Feuermann was born in 1902 in Kolomyja, Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Kolomyia, Ukraine) to ...

, Daniel Saidenberg,

Orlando Cole Orlando Cole (August 16, 1908 – January 25, 2010) was an American cello teacher who taught two generations of soloists, chamber musicians, and first cellists in a dozen leading orchestras, including Lynn Harrell, Jonah Kim, Ronald Leonard, ...

, Sevak Avanesyan, Nathaniel Rosen, Boris Andrianov, Galen Kelch, Virgil Boutellis-Taft, Sylvia Lent, Ralph Kirshbaum, István Várdai, and

Heinrich Schiff Heinrich Schiff (18 November 1951 – 23 December 2016) was an Austrian cellist and conductor. Early life Heinrich Schiff was born on 18 November 1951 in Gmunden, Austria. His parents, Helga (née Riemann) and Helmut Schiff, were composers. H ...

Famous cellos

* ''Petunia'' (1733) - owned by

* ''Ex-Romberg'' (1733) - on loan to

* ''Esquire'' (1723) - on loan to Harriet Krigjh * ''Feuermann'' (1735) - Swiss collector, previously owned by Emmanuel Feuermann * ''Ex-Servais'' (1738) - owned by Nathaniel Rosen * ''Mighty Venetian'' (1738) - owned by Nathaniel Rosen, previously owned by Adrien-Francois Servais (1807-1866) * ''Kates-Hancock'' (1739) - owned by Stephen Kates until 2003 * ''Sleeping Beauty'' (1739) - owned by

* ''Baron Steinheil'' (1740) (unknown) * ''Duchess of Cleaveland'' (1740) (unknown) * ''Montagnana'' (1710) - owned by Guilhermina Suggia

Famous violins

* ''Mackenzie'' (1721) * ''Ex-Bloomfield'' (1731) * ''Ex- Régis Pasquier'' (1742) - played by Virgil Boutellis-Taft An international festival with concerts where some of Montagnana's instruments are used is held every year in his native town,

References

Sources

* ''Violin and Lute Makers of Venice 1640 - 1760 '' by Stefano Pio. Ed. Venice research, Venice, Italy, 2004

External links

Domenico Montagnana International Festival (Italian/English)

Cozio

Domenico Montagnana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montagnana, Domenico 1686 births 1750 deaths Italian luthiers People from Venice