Gennaro Gagliano, Naples, c. 1740
This is a violin made by Gennaro Gagliano (c. 1705 - c. 1790), one of the most remarkable Neapolitan-style violin makers of the 18th century.
After his father, Alessandro Gagliano, who laid the foundation of the Neapolitan style, Gennaro as well as his elder brother, Nicolo, has been highly reputed as an excellent maker from the Gagliano family. While Nicolo played an important role in forming the Neapolitan style, Gennaro took in models of Amati and Stradivarius to merge the Cremonese tradition into the Neapolitan original sense, and developed the style.
This violin was made around 1740 and shows uniqueness of the style. Its sound holes feel like influence from Amati with the elegant outline and the delicate curves. From the precise purfling and the well-balanced arch, touches of the technical preciseness and carefulness can be felt.
The table is made up of one piece of spruce and the back is made of two pieces of fine-grained maple. The orange-red varnish, laid on the golden-colored foundation, draws out the rich expression of the surface and the fine grain of maple, elegant air of which is typical for Italian musical instruments of the 18th century.
Its sound responses very delicately and is capable enough of delicate expressions. In contrast, it also has strong feeling of tension and full body. With clear and distinct outline of sound, presenting gorgeous feeling of its existence, this violin fulfills players' demands for careful nuances and extensive worlds of expressions.
With its elegant figure rooted in the Cremonese tradition, which has been merged into the Neapolitan originality in harmony, this violin inherits Gennaro's refined style of art.