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A Massive Achievement: the 1677 ‘Romanov’ Nicolò Amati viola

2023-03-17T09:10:00

Amati_VA_1677_belly

Made in 1677, the ‘Romanov’ Nicolò Amati viola is one of the maker’s late masterpieces

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This article appeared in the December 2019 issue of The Strad

In 2018 an exhibition took place at the Venaria Reale palace near Turin. ‘Precious Instruments, Illustrious Names’, curated by Giovanni Accornero, featured many treasures including guitars, mandolins and bowed instruments, once played by such virtuosos as Pugnani, Paganini and Segovia. In this group of about 30 instruments, among which were a few made by the best Cremonese makers of the Golden Age, a viola by Nicolò Amati stood boldly in its glass case: an instrument of large dimensions and its own archaic charm, made in Cremona in 1677 when the luthier was aged 81…

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