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A unique pairing: the ‘Paderewski, Wendling’ violin

2024-08-23T08:45:00

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In the first of a two-part article, Balthazar Soulier examines an extraordinary violin that displays the hallmarks of both Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ and Domenico Montagnana

This fascinating violin was first revealed to a wide audience in Fridolin Hamma’s standard work Meisterwerke Italienischer Geigenbaukunst, published in 1931. It is prominently illustrated on the last page of the chapter dedicated to ‘del Gesù’ with the intriguing description: ‘A highly interesting example of a fine Montagnana with a front made especially for it by Guarnerius del Gesu and an original label inside, reading Josef Guarnerius del Gesu, Cremona 1744’. Most connoisseurs who consulted the book since then must have thought that it was a fantasy (or at least an error of judgement) on the German expert’s part…

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