Tullio Bassi (born 1937 in

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

) is an Italian

violin maker A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be u ...

. He made instruments for members of a number of renowned orchestras. He studies and follows the techniques of the renowned

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinisation of names, Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', a ...

. He is a self-taught violin maker, coming from a family of cabinet-makers, who developed a passion for classical musical instruments and experimenting in the fabrication of

string instruments In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

, progressively becoming a luthier.

Career

In the late 60's he made his first classical guitar, participating in a local contest in

Bagnacavallo Bagnacavallo () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The Renaissance painter Bartolomeo Ramenghi bore the nickname of his native city. Main sights *''Castellaccio'' (15th century) * Giardino dei Semplici ...

where he ranked third. In the 1970s, he began constructing violins and other instruments. In the last five decades, he has made guitars, violins,

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

s and cellos, with the methods of old

luthiers A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

as described in ''The secrets of Stradivari''. He maintained and followed ancient techniques, with a no-compromise approach in the respect of timing schedules for each phase of the manufacturing process and following the original execution methods. He used the same elements and materials as the ancient Italian luthiers. His target is to preserve the integrity of the old Italian art and culture in

violin making and maintenance Making an instrument of the violin family, also called lutherie, may be done in different ways, many of which have changed very little in nearly 500 years since the first violins were made. Some violins, called "bench-made" instruments, are made ...

and share this knowledge to younger generations. A public exhibition of his instruments was held in 2012 in the main square of the city of

by La Cassa Bank Foundation.

Legacy

His instruments are played by artists including: * Francesco Manara, 1st violin of the

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

Orchestra in Milan *Danilo Rossi 1st viola of the La Scala Orchestra of Milan *Stefano Pezzi, cello of the

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

orchestra *Claudia Zanzotto, violin * Paolo Chiavacci, violin *Roberto Noferini, violin Since 2003, with the support of the "Associazione Musicale Angelo Mariani", he organises an annual concert in a church in Piangipane, called "Omaggio a Paganini" in memory of the concert that

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

held in

in 1810. In 2008 he made

Tromba marina A tromba marina, marine trumpet or nuns' fiddle, ( Fr. ''trompette marine''; Ger. ''Marientrompete, Trompetengeige, Nonnengeige'' or ''Trumscheit'', Pol. ''tubmaryna'') is a triangular bowed string instrument used in medieval and Renaissanc ...

, a triangular bowed

string instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

used in medieval and Renaissance Europe. He is named in ''Violin makers in Italy'', by Gualtiero Nicolini.

References

External links

Official website

Associazione Angelo Mariani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassi, Tullio Italian luthiers People from Ravenna Living people 1937 births

Career

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links