The Museum of Musical Instruments of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
exhibits over 700 musical instruments from the fifteenth to twentieth centuries with particular attention to
Lombard instruments. The collection contains
plucked instruments, Lombard and
Cremonese
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label=Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capi ...
violins
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 regular ...
,
hunting horns, numerous wood instruments (e.g.
flutes
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
,
oboes
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
,
clarinets
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. ...
,
English horns),
bassoons
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuos ...
,
pianos
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
and some ancient
organs. In particular the
Cremonese
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label=Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capi ...
lutherie (from
Cremona
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...
in low
Lombardy
(man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
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, ...
) is appreciated all over the world for the high quality of its musical instruments. The museum also displays the equipment of the former
Studio di fonologia musicale di Radio Milano
The was established 1955 in Milan following a joint initiative by Luciano Berio and Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna (21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian conductor and composer.
Life
Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but l ...
.
In 2000 a donation by the added 79 musical instruments, made between the 18th and 20th century, to the civic collection; they had been collected by the Monzino family. These musical instruments represent the strong tradition of
Lombard lutherie.
The museum is situated in the
Sforza Castle
The Castello Sforzesco (Italian for "Sforza's Castle") is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later reno ...
complex that also includes
The Museum of Ancient Art
The Museo d'Arte Antica ('Museum of Ancient Art') is an art museum in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It has a large collection of sculpture from late antiquity and the medieval and Renaissance periods. The variou ...
, the
Pinacotheca
A pinacotheca (Latin borrowing from grc, πινακοθήκη, pinakothēkē = grc, πίναξ, pinax, (painted) board, tablet, label=none + grc, θήκη, thēkē, box, chest, label=none) was a picture gallery in either ancient Greece or anc ...
, the
Applied Arts Collection and the
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display a ...
(that includes the
prehistoric
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The us ...
sections of the
Archaeological Museum
An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological
Types
Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum. Others display artifacts inside buildings, such as ...
of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
).
Gallery
File:Museo strumenti musicali milano.JPG, A room of the museum
File:Museo strumenti musicali milano 1.JPG, The wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...
s hall
File:Museo degli strumenti musicali di milano - copia di corni naturali - vienna 1712.JPG, Horns, ''Michael Leichamschneider'', Vienna 1712
File:Museo strumenti musicali 8.JPG, Virginal
The virginals (or virginal) is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family. It was popular in Europe during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods.
Description
A virginal is a smaller and simpler rectangular or polygonal form of ha ...
, ''Ioannes Ruckers'', Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, 1600
File:Museo strumenti musicali -milano- Organo , Toscana XVIII sec..JPG, Organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
, Tuscany, XVIII
File:Museo strumenti musicali -milano- Organo , Emilia XVIII sec.JPG, Organ, Emilia, XVIII
File:Museo strumenti musicali -milano- fortepiano a coda attribuito a johann fritz, vienna 1815 ca..JPG, Piano, ''Johann Fritz'', Vienna 1815
file:Pianofote a giraffa - Vienna - XIX secolo - Museo degli strumenti musicali del castello sforzesco - Milano.JPG, Giraffe piano, Vienna, 19th century
File:Studio di fonologia del 1955 della sede Rai di Milano - Museo degli strumenti musicali del castello sforzesco - Milano.JPG, Synthesizer
File:Studio di fonologia del 1955 della sede Rai di Milano - Museo degli strumenti musicali del castello sforzesco - Milano (3).JPG, Audio console
See also
*
List of music museums
This worldwide list of music museums encompasses past and present museums that focus on musicians, musical instruments or other musical subjects.
Argentina
* – Mina Clavero
* Academia Nacional del Tango de la República Argentina – Buenos ...
References
*''Le città d'arte:Milano'', Guide brevi Skira, ed.2008, eutori vari
*''Milano e provincia'', Touring Club Italiano ed.2003, autori vari
*https://web.archive.org/web/20131111124406/http://www.comune.milano.it/dseserver/webcity/documenti.nsf/0/5A4CA30F4FDC7CA8C125726C005484BE?opendocument
COLLECTIONS OF APPLIED ARTS AND THE MUSEUM OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ON THE FIRST AND SECOND FLOORS OF THE ROCCHETTA*https://archive.today/20130218110516/http://www.ufficiostampa.rai.it/comunicati_aziendali/20120614/rai__lo_studio_di_fonologia_torna_a__suonare_.html
External links
*
{{Authority control
Museums in Milan
Musical instrument museums in Italy
Sforza Castle
Music museums in Italy
Tourist attractions in Milan