Carlo Giuseppe Testore (c. 1665–1738) was an Italian

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 worked in his later life 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 ...

Biography

Testore was born in

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

. A student of Giovanni Grancino, he went to Milan in 1687 and set up his workshop at the Sign of the Eagle ("All'aquila") in the Contrada Larga in Milan. His two sons, Carlo Antonio Testore (1688-after 1764) and

Paolo Antonio Testore Paolo Antonio Testore (born 1700 - died 1767) was a Milanese luthier. He was born in Milan, the second son of Carlo Giuseppe Testore, also a noted luthier, and worked out of the family's workshop under the "Sign of the Eagle" on Contrada Larga i ...

(1690-after 1760), students of their father, also worked as luthiers in Milan. Giovanni, son of Carlo, and (?Genn)-aro, son of Paolo, continued the workshop in Milan during the 1760s. Carlo Giuseppe Testore is especially valued for his

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

es. Currently, Russian violist

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (russian: link=no, Юрий Абрамович Башмет; born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of Abr ...

plays a

instrument.

National Arts Centre Orchestra The National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC Orchestra) is a Canadian orchestra based in Ottawa, Ontario led by music director Alexander Shelley. The NAC Orchestra's primary concert venue is Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. Since its incept ...

's principal cellist Amanda Forsyth uses a Testore cello, manufactured in 1699, as does solo cellist Jacob Shaw with a cello of unknown date, belonging to the Royal Danish Academy of Music collection. Clifford Spohr, principal emeritus of the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins t ...

double bass section, currently owns and uses a double bass made by Carlo Giuseppe Testore; this instrument was built in Milan in the year of the maker's death; it has five strings, plus a low C extension by Winterhalter, giving it a greater than normal range.

References

1665 births 1738 deaths People from Novara Italian luthiers Businesspeople from Milan {{Italy-music-bio-stub