Giuseppe Guarneri facts for kids

Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (born August 21, 1698 – died October 17, 1744) was a famous Italian luthier from the Guarneri family in Cremona. A luthier is someone who makes or repairs string instruments like violins.

Many people believe his violins are as good as, or even better than, those made by Antonio Stradivari. Because of this, instruments made by Guarneri are highly sought after by musicians and collectors. They are often called Del Gesùs.

Guarneri was known as del Gesù, which means "of Jesus." He got this name because after 1731, he started adding the letters "IHS" (a symbol for Jesus) and a cross to his labels. His violins had a unique style, different from his family's traditional designs. They often have a darker, stronger, and richer sound compared to Stradivari's violins.

Today, fewer than 200 of Guarneri's instruments still exist, and almost all of them are violins. Because they are so rare and high-quality, his violins can sell for more than $10 million! An asteroid has even been named 19185 Guarneri in his honor.

A Master Violin Maker

Bartolomeo Giuseppe was the most famous member of the Guarneri family. His father, Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri, and his grandfather, Andrea Guarneri, were also well-known violin makers. Andrea learned his skills from Nicola Amati, who also taught Stradivari. Giuseppe likely learned how to make violins in his father's workshop.

Many violin makers since the 1800s have tried to copy Giuseppe Guarneri's unique style. His career was quite different from Stradivari's. Stradivari worked for over 70 years, always careful about his craftsmanship and slowly improving his designs. Guarneri's career was much shorter, lasting from the late 1720s until his death in 1744.

At first, people thought Guarneri was always trying new things. He experimented a lot with the shape of the f-holes (the sound holes on a violin), the curves of the wood, and the thickness of the top and back of the instruments. However, it seems he was very busy and had to work quickly. This was because his famous neighbor, Antonio Stradivari, was so successful that Guarneri couldn't charge as much for his violins. He needed to make more instruments faster to earn a living.

Some of his later violins, made between 1742 and 1744, show signs of this rush. Their scrolls (the carved part at the end of the neck) might be roughly carved, the purfling (decorative inlay around the edges) might be quickly put in, and the f-holes might not be perfectly even.

Despite these signs of haste, many of these later violins have a wonderful sound. Solo musicians especially love them. There was a story in the 1800s that Guarneri made violins while in prison. This was just a made-up tale. More recent information suggests that business was so slow later in his life that he had to work as an innkeeper to support himself, making violins only on the side.

Violin Il Cannone, once owned by Niccolò Paganini

It's also believed that some violins from his workshop, with his label, were actually made by his German wife, Caterina Roda. Unlike many other famous violin makers who lived long lives, Guarneri died at only 46. This suggests that his later instruments' unique look might have been due to stress, working quickly, or even illness.

Guarneri's instruments became truly famous later on. By the 1750s, a violinist named Gaetano Pugnani was known to prefer Guarneri violins. Later, in the 1800s, the famous virtuoso Niccolò Paganini became the most well-known player of Guarneri violins.

Many skilled violinists have played Guarneri del Gesù violins, including:

• Salvatore Accardo
• Sarah Chang
• Timothy Chooi
• Kyung-wha Chung
• Eugene Fodor
• Augustin Hadelich
• Jascha Heifetz
• Joseph Joachim
• Leila Josefowicz
• Nigel Kennedy
• Leonid Kogan
• Henning Kraggerud
• Fritz Kreisler
• Gidon Kremer
• Yang Liu
• Robert McDuffie
• Anne Akiko Meyers
• Midori
• Elmar Oliveira
• Ruth Palmer
• Itzhak Perlman
• Rachel Barton Pine
• Maud Powell
• Michael Rabin
• Charlie Siem
• Marie Soldat
• Isaac Stern
• Henryk Szeryng
• Arve Tellefsen
• Richard Tognetti
• Uto Ughi
• Henri Vieuxtemps
• Aaron Rosand
• Eugène Ysaÿe
• Kerson Leong
• Zvi Zeitlin
• Pinchas Zukerman
• Yi-Jia Susanne Hou

Some of the most famous del Gesù instruments include:

• Il Cannone Guarnerius from 1743, which was the favorite violin of virtuoso Niccolò Paganini.
• The Lord Wilton from 1742, once owned by Yehudi Menuhin.
• The Vieuxtemps Guarneri, sold in 2013 for nearly $18 million, making it one of the most expensive instruments ever.
• Jascha Heifetz owned a c. 1740 Guarneri del Gesù, which was his favorite, even though he also owned several Stradivaris.
• The "Ole Bull" del Gesù violin from 1744, named after the Norwegian virtuoso Ole Bull, is believed to be Guarneri's last work.

List of Instruments

(From the Cozio Archive)

See also

In Spanish: Giuseppe Guarneri para niños