Antonio Stradivari

Petherick, Horace, 1839-1919Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 177K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Antonio Stradivari by Horace PetherickAuthor: Petherick, Horace, 1839-1919,Language: English, Class: ML: Music: Literature of music, Release Date: Jun 26, 2011

Editor's review

Horace Petherick's Antonio Stradivari is a study of the most celebrated figure in the history of violin making, belonging to the branch of music literature devoted to instruments. Taking craft technique, the evolution of models and surviving instruments as its threads, the author discusses the formal characteristics and attribution of Stradivari's work, offering an early English account of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Cremonese violin-making tradition. The book's value lies not in a biographical, legend-filled narrative but in its presentation of the material details of the craft from the perspective of collecting and connoisseurship. For violin students, makers, instrument collectors and lovers of music history, it helps establish a basic understanding of the craft of famous instruments. Note that the book was written long ago and some of its attributions and methods have been revised by later research; read it with caution, as a historical document rather than a contemporary authority on attribution.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying violin making or performance who want to understand the craft of famous instruments
Those interested in instrument collecting, connoisseurship and the material culture of music
Students and enthusiasts of music history or the violin-making tradition
Readers who want to see how early English writing on the violin was done

Not a good fit for

General readers expecting a full biography and life story of Stradivari
Collectors and investors seeking contemporary authoritative standards of attribution and market valuations
Readers with no interest in craft details who want only a general history of music

Reading tips

Read the table of contents first to grasp the framework, then focus on the chapters on models and craft.
Read alongside modern research on violin making, distinguishing early views from later revisions.
Listen to recordings of Stradivari instruments to build a sensory sense of tone and form.
Take notes on the author's criteria for attribution to compare with modern methods.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a biography of Stradivari?

Not exactly. It focuses more on craft technique, models and instrument attribution than on a chronological account of his life. For a full biography, look for a dedicated biographical work.

Are the book's attributions still reliable today?

The book was written long ago, and some of its methods and conclusions have been revised by later research. It is useful as a historical document for understanding early approaches, but should not be taken as a basis for contemporary attribution.

What musical knowledge is needed before reading?

Basic familiarity with the violin family and simple music theory is helpful. Readers entirely new to string instrument structure may want to start with an introductory text on instrument construction.

What are the limitations of the Project Gutenberg edition?

This is a public-domain e-book, free to read and copy, but it generally lacks a modern editor's introduction, updated notes or high-quality plates; details of craft need to be supplemented from other sources.

Comments

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About the author

Petherick, Horace, 1839-1919 Author · British · 1839–1919

Horace Petherick (1839–1919) was a British bookbinder and writer, remembered for his works on the history and craft of bookbinding. He focused on technique itself, writing not in generalities but around materials, tools, and working steps, combining a practitioner's perspective with a sense of historical documentation; his work is useful for understanding modern British binding practice. Beyond binding, he also wrote on the violin: The Repairing & Restoration of Violins and Antonio Stradivari, both included here, belong to this area and show his interest extending to string instrument restoration and the history of violin making. Public information on the details of his life is limited, and he is known mainly through the subjects and orientation of his writings.