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Russian Antique. |
Paganini's violin to be auctioned
| Date: 03.10.2005 Source: news agency "Russian Antique" |  äÏÂÁ×ÉÔØ ÏÔÚÙ× |
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| The Bergonzi violin [zoom (21k)] |
On November 1 Sotheby’s London will sell a violin made by Carlo Bergonzi, the rarest of all the Cremonese makers and one of only fifty instruments by the maker that still survives. The exceptional instrument dates from around 1720 and is estimated to fetch about GBP500,000.
Famous master Carlo Bergonzi (1683–1747) started to make violins in 1720. His instruments are considered some of the best ever made apart from those made by Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu. Bergonzi's work is characterised by a superb choice of wood, a rich varnish to rival Stradivari, and a fineness of execution surpassed only by the Amatis.
The auctioned violin has an extraordinary history. Owned by the great Nicolo Paganini the violin has changed hands on many occasions. Sotheby’s experts have found out all details concerning the fate of the instrument. In 1870 the instrument was owned by Charles Louis, son of Baron Louis who had bought it from virtuoso's son Achille. In 1876 the violin was owned by a professor of violin at the Conservatoire de Musique in Paris. Augustin Lefort, was the owner of the violin until 1921 when he sold the instrument to Leon Fischesser for 50,000 francs. Seven years later Fischesser sold it to a Mme. Ducas, and New York dealer Emil Herrmann reports some years later that around 1930 it was in the collection of Thomas C. Petersen of San Francisco. Petersen sold the violin to Roger Chittolini of New York in 1948, from whom it passed, via Herrmann, to John Corrigliano, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1943 to 1966. Corrigliano parted with it in 1957, again via Herrmann. This time the purchaser was an amateur who played the violin for around 35 years, and the instrument has remained in the possession of his family to this day.
According to Sotheby’s staff, Carlo Bergonzi is the rarest of all the great violin makers and this is the first time since 1984 that one of his violins has appeared at auction. Besides, it is the first time that one of Paganini's violins has been offered at auction.
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