Sergio Peresson
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Sergio Peresson (1913–1991) was an Italian-born
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
maker. Born in 1913 in
Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, Sergio made his first violin in 1943 before moving to Caracas, Venezuela, in 1947. There he primarily did repair work for the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra and had a modest production of new instruments. He moved to Philadelphia in 1963 and was employed by William Moennig and Son. It was under the aegis of the Moennig shop that Peresson was finally able to see and copy the best instruments. He fashioned many copies of old masters (among them the 1743 'Spalding' Guarneri del Gesù owned by concertmaster Norman Carol) and gained notoriety among players. He left Moennig in 1971 and established himself with a workshop in his home in
Haddonfield, New Jersey Haddonfield is a borough (New Jersey), borough located in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 12,550, an increase of 957 (+8.3%) from the ...
. It is generally acknowledged that Peresson's finest instruments were crafted from about the mid 1970s to the early 1980s. Soloists who have owned and performed on ''Peresson'' instruments include:
Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Ukraine, Stern moved to the United States when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union a ...
,
Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...
,
Ivan Galamian Ivan Alexander Galamian (; April 14, 1981) was an Armenian-American violin teacher of the twentieth century who was the violin teacher of many seminal violin players including Itzhak Perlman and Kyung Wha Chung. Biography Galamian was born in ...
, William DePasquale,
Pinchas Zukerman Pinchas Zukerman (; born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Life and career Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zukerman. He began his musica ...
, Norman Carol,
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, Eugene Fodor, Maria Bachmann, Lenuta Ciulei,
Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...
,
Jacqueline du Pré Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * ''Jacqueline'' (1923 film) ...
, and
Alexander Markov Alexander Markov is a Russian American violinist who has received awards from the Paganini International Violin Competition (gold medal) and the Avery Fisher Career Grant. He is known for his recording of Paganini's 24 Caprices for Solo Violi ...
who performed his famous recording of Paganini's 24 Caprices on a 1970 ''Peresson'' violin. Peresson mostly made violins and violas, but his cellos are exceptional. Norman Carol, former concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra and owner of two Peresson violins, called him "the most outstanding maker" in the world. From 1970, du Pré's primary performance instrument was a ''Peresson''
cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
. Commissioned by her husband
Daniel Barenboim Daniel Moses Barenboim (; born 15 November 1942) is an Argentines, Argentine-Israeli classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin, who also has Spain, Spanish and State of Palestine, Palestinian citizenship. From 1992 until January 2023, Bare ...
in 1970, it was used in the live 1970 recording of the '' Elgar Cello Concerto'', with Barenboim conducting the
Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...
. After du Pré's death in 1987 the instrument passed to Alison Eldridge for a time, and is on loan from Barenboim to Kyril Zlotnikov of the Jerusalem String Quartet. In 1982, Peresson stopped taking new orders for his instruments due to an inability to meet demand. At the time there was a waiting list of 180 musicians who had placed orders, said his wife, Margit. Although his instruments sound like those of the Stradivarius or Guarnerius instruments, Peresson liked to think there is also a distinct Peresson sound. He firmly believed that important elements in any musical instrument are a beautiful and rich tone, carrying or projecting power, and being responsive to the fingers of the player. He likened violin making to violin playing, in that with both, the genuinely great can be distinguished easily from the good. Mrs. Peresson sent a message on her late husband's behalf: "My instruments are my own model, and in my opinion the principal qualities of an ideal violin, viola or violoncello are beauty, quality, evenness and clarity of tone, rich sonority, powerful projection, and quick and easy response."


Quotations


References

* ''Il liutaio Sergio Peresson (1913-1991)'', Pizzicato ed. musicali, Udine 2001, written by Lorenzo Nassimbeni
1743 Spalding Guarneri del Gesù
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peresson, Sergio 1913 births 1991 deaths Italian luthiers Italian emigrants to Venezuela People from Haddonfield, New Jersey