Antonio Stradivari (c.1644–1737) – or Stradivarius as he is usually known – is the only maker of musical instruments whose name ranks alongside those of the great composers.
While the details of his life are not as familiar as Vivaldi’s or Mozart’s, his name evokes the idea of a creative genius in the popular imagination. This exhibition will explore his life and work and will put on show twenty of the most important instruments in the world, some of which have never before been displayed in public.
STRADIVARIUS will be the first major show devoted to the maker’s work ever to be held in the UK. The instruments on display will be the finest and most beautiful of their kind, many dating from Stradivarius’s ‘Golden Period’ (1700–1720) when he was the height of his creative powers and making instruments that became the classic models on which later violins and cellos were based. Among the star items will be the ‘Viotti’ violin of 1709, which belonged at one time to the violinist Giovanni Battista Viotti, who did more than anyone to establish the fame of Stradivarius’s violins in the early-19th century. Also on display will be the ‘Batta-Piatigorsky’ cello of 1714, played by the great Russian cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, who wrote of the instrument in his autobiography, “it spurred me on to try to reach its depths, and I have never worked harder or desired anything more fervently than to draw out of this superior instrument all it has to give.”
One gallery of the exhibition will show a recreation of Stradivarius’s workshop, displaying his original tools, wooden models and patterns, on loan from the Museo Stradivariano in Cremona. The displays will allow visitors to follow the creation of a violin from a log of spruce wood through to the finished instrument and to explore the techniques and artistry of violin-making. Recordings and interviews with leading musicians will give visitors the chance to hear Stradivarius’s instruments which are still being played. During the run of the exhibition, luthier workshops, performances and tours will offer people insights into the elements which have contributed to Stradivarius’s immortal reputation.
To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, Canadian virtuoso and Stradivarius player James Ehnes will give a gala concert in Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre, performing unaccompanied music by Bach and Paganini on a number of Stradivarius violins. He will also discuss the unique qualities of Stradivarius violins and the sound they produce.
Exhibition: STRADIVARIUS
Dates: 13 June–11 August 2013
Venue: Ashmolean Special Exhibition Galleries 57, 59 & 60
Press View: Wednesday 12 June 2013, 10am–12pm
Tickets: £6/£4 concessions, free to under-18s
Catalogue: The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue available at £60 at the Ashmolean Shop or online at www.ashmolean.org/shop
Concert: James Ehnes will perform in The Dawn of the Stradivarius at the Sheldonian Theatre on Friday 14 June, 7.30–9.30pm. For tickets visit: www.musicatoxford.com / T 01865 244 806
