Gio Batta Morassi was one of the most renowned violin-makers from Cremona in the latter half of the 20th century. He was also an excellent instructor and many of the leading makers of today studied under him.
G. B. Morassi was born to a family of a woodworker in Cedarchis, Udine in 1934.
He graduated from the violin-making school in Cremona in 1955. Coincidentally Pietro Sgarabotto started to teach at the same violin-making school as a professor, under whom Morassi worked as an assistant after his graduation.
Afterwards, Morassi encountered Giuseppe Ornati and Ferdinando Garimberti, both of whom came to Cremona to teach repair-work seminars, and his making-style was greatly influenced by them.
1960s were so-called his epoch-making period. He came to like soft-feeling beautifully curved lines, deeply influenced from the Milanese school, which were taken in by his students.
In 1971, he became the chief professor. In 1976, his atelier moved to via Lanaioli and became one of the most important ateliers in Cremona. He continued teaching until 1983, continually studying and experimenting with materials and structures, and made many art pieces of beautiful sound quality based on the classical Cremonesestyle and his own models. Regrettably he passed away in 2018. His atelier has been inherited by his son Simeoneand his nephew Giovanni Battista.
This viola, made by young Morassi in 1968, shows a majestic structure and graceful lines, and its sound feels strong body and deep potential.