Antonio Inte learns family dead--I talian violin maker Antonio Stradivari created instruments that are still considered the finest ever made. The new styles of violins and cellos that he developed were remarkable for their excellent tonal quality and became the basic design for all modern versions of the instruments.

Family of violin makers

There are no records of Antonio Stradivari's birth, but based on the documentation of his age that accompanied his signature on some of the instruments he created late in his life, it is assumed that he was born in 1644. There is also little known about his youth. He was probably born in Cremona, Italy, the city where his family had been established for five centuries, and he was the son of Alessandro Stradivari. Cremona was a town that had been renowned for its master violin makers for nearly one hundred years. Its leading craftsman during Stradivari's early life was Niccolo Amati, who represented the third generation of his family to contribute to the development of the traditional violin style popular at the time. Stradivari was probably apprenticed (worked to learn a trade) to Amati by the early 1660s and under Amati's direction learned the craft of violin making.

Experimented with violin design

By 1666 Stradivari was producing instruments independently as well as continuing to work at his mentor's (an advisor and guide) shop, which he probably did until Amati's death in 1684. In 1667 he was married to Francesca Feraboschi and set up his own household and shop. The couple eventually had six children and two of their sons would follow in their father's footsteps as violin makers. In the decade or so before 1680 Stradivari created a wide variety of stringed instruments, including guitars, harps, lutes, and mandolins. He continued to follow Amati's basic design for violins, but during this time he began experimenting with improvements in tone and design.

The Stradivari family moved to a new house at No. 2, Piazza San Domenico in 1680, and the building would serve as the violin maker's home and workshop for the rest of his


Read more: http://www.notablebiographies.com/St-Tr/Stradivari-Antonio.html#b#ixzz2khQrAKZv