Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi (c. 1714 – 1787) was an Italian master
luthier
A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...
who was active in the 18th century during the golden age of stringed instrument making.
Landolfi is considered among the half dozen finest stringed instrument makers in history, along with
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 ...
and
Guarneri del Gesu
Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...
and
Pietro Guarneri
Pietro Guarnieri (14 April 1695 – 7 April 1762) was an Italian luthier. Sometimes referred to as ''Pietro da Venezia'', he was the son of Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri, ''filius Andreae'', and the last of the Guarneri house of violin-ma ...
. Instruments created centuries ago by Landolfi and his fellow Italian luthiers have not been improved upon despite modern technology and are still played by the finest violinists and violists in the great concert halls across the world.
Landolfi was born in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...
, Italy in 1714 and after an apprenticeship in
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 ...
, Italy, he returned to Milan in 1734, age 20, and created his workshop. As his instrument labels indicate, he worked "Contrada Santa Margherita, al Segno della Sirena," in the central metropolis of Italy's Lombardy region, at the center of the city's busy mercantile and artistic activities.
Landolfi's career continued in Milan throughout his life.
Instruments
Landolfi may have been the last of the classical Italian master luthiers to use Cremonese methods of construction and of compounding varnishes.
For his finest instruments, Landolfi chose the woods with exceptional care and used superb varnishes of a particularly striking hue.
Landolfi's best instruments have similarities to the work of Guarneri del Gesu, but the Landolfis have unique characteristics reflecting constant refinement over the course of his career. For example, Landolfi developed an approach that increased the arching of the belly of each violin and viola with relation to the back. And his careful workmanship included scroll carving of a particularly graceful manner, often smaller and broader than the work of other master luthiers.
Importantly, Landolfi's most exceptional instruments possess a full tone of great carrying power. For that reason, over the centuries Landolfis have been prized by solo performers.
Musicians who have owned Landolfis include
Carl Flesch
Carl Flesch (born Károly Flesch, 9 October 1873 – 14 November 1944) was a Hungarian violinist and teacher. Flesch’s compendium ''Scale System'' is a staple of violin pedagogy.
Life and career
Flesch was born in Moson (now part of Mosonmagy ...
, the Hungarian violinist and teacher (1873 - 1944) who played both a Landolfi and the Brancaccio Stradivarius and French Jewish violist