The violins of Cremona and Venice might have the most
storied histories, but the Neopolitan Gagliano family instruments have stood
the test of time as well.
In
20th century America, the music most popular among immigrants from
Italy, and Naples in particular, is lively and very often full of comedy. That
includes the Sceneggiata, a stage musical form akin to soap operas performed by
Neapolitans Mario Merola, Pino Mauro, and Mario Trevi.
But
among classical music audiences, and to violinists in particular, Naples is
strongly associated with the violins and other fine
stringed instruments made by multiple generations of a single family of renowned
luthiers, the Gaglianos.
The
founding patriarch of this family – which made fine violins, cellos and double
bass instruments from the early 18th through the early 20th
centuries – was violin maker Alessandro
Gagliano (born in 1640). A native of Naples, he traveled north to Cremona where
he trained under none other than Antonio Stradivari and Nicolo Amati.
Biographers write that it was with the Cremonese masters that Alessandro Gagliano
learned how to select wood that was as beautiful to observe as the music tones
it produced.
Alessandro
worked until the age of 90 (1730), long enough to train two sons, Nicola I and
Gennaro, and four grandsons: Ferdinando, Giuseppe, Antonio I, and Giovanni. At
least three great grandsons (Nicola II, Raffaele, and Antonio II) came next and
continued the tradition of craftsmanship in making fine stringed instruments.
How
good were the violins of the Gaglianos? It varies, and son Nicola I is considered
the best insofar as the prices his violins sell for today attest. A cello by
Nicolo sold for $744,178 at auction in 2011; his highest-valued violin sold for
$258,600 in 2017. Beyond their market value in the 21st century, Nicolo’s
instruments are described as “as close as you can get to a Cremonese sound,
varnish, and modeling without the word ‘fecit Cremonensis’ on the label.”
Contemporary
virtuoso Rachel Barton Pine plays on a Nicola Gagliano violin for Baroque
performances. There are 124 violins, 6 cellos, and 1 viola by Nicolo I known in
existence has been sold since 1912 (per data from the Tarisio fine instruments
and bows auction house).
Other
children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of Alessandro Gagliano were
prodigious violinmakers, each with their own labels (although switching of
labels between instruments, and copiers from outside the family, make precise
identification of the specific luthier a little more complicated). Ferdinando
in particular was most productive, even if some of his instruments are
described as “nondescript.”
The
contemporary (20th century) music from Naples that Americans know
well – “O Sole mio” and “Funiculi Funicula” among them – actually follow in the
footsteps of the great composers that came out of the conservatories of Naples.
They include Pergolesi, Puccini, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti – names that
no doubt knew the instruments from Gagliano well, for generations.
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