I have a real soft spot for this model, the first of Stradivari's violas. It's an outlier amongst his output in a number of ways; the model is a little broader than the later violas, the back is poplar rather than the more usual maple. The original is played by Antoine Tamestit, and in his hands the sound quality is immediately arresting and compelling. It's been in my mind for a while that it could be an interesting project to reduce the viola from its original 16 1/4 inches to a smaller … [Read more...]
modern violin maker
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Violas: sizes and proportions
Talk given at Viola Day for Teachers at Chetham's School of Music, Manchester in January 2004. It … Read More...