Cremona, 1937
The Birth of the Museo di Liuteria Moderna
september 14th – october 12th
In 1937, Cremona wanted to pay tribute to Antonio Stradivari during the bicentennial of his death. The International Exhibition of Antique Cremonese Violin Making was organized at the same time as the National Exhibition of Modern Violin Making, which saw 119 violin makers present over 300 instruments.
A large number of instruments, previously stored by the Luigi Cherubino Conservatory in Florence, were donated to the city by the Italian National Craftsmanship Federation. These instruments, along with the winners of the violin-making competition, formed the initial nucleus of the Museo di Liuteria Moderna, the museum of modern violin making.
In the donation documents, it was specified that the museum must be based in Cremona, and should become “the primary source of documentation for the planned school of violin making”, a role now filled by the Museo del Violino.
At the time, all signs pointed to a vigorous resurgence of violin making in Cremona and Italy, but this revival was interrupted by the war, and further development of this great tradition of craftsmanship was put on hold for several years.
Through the display of the instruments donated in 1937 that now form part of the museum’s collections and a fascinating wealth of documents, the exhibition explores an event that was fundamental to 20th-century Italian violin making from both a historical and a connoisseur’s perspective.
Instruments on Display
| violino | Igino Sderci | Firenze 1934 | viola | Oreste Cavallini | Arezzo 1892 | |
| violino | Fernando Ferroni | Firenze 1932 | viola | Fernando Ferroni | Firenze 1927 | |
| violino | Gaetano Sgarabotto | Parma 1935 | viola | Gaetano Sgarabotto | Parma 1935 | |
| violino | Lapo Casini | Firenze 1929 | viola | Giuseppe Lecchi | Genova 1934 | |
| violino | Luigi Galimberti | Milano 1934 | viola | Armando Barbieri | Forlì 1925 | |
| violino | Biagio Caruana | Roma 1934 | viola d’amore | Vezio Paoletti | Firenze sd | |
| violino | Giuseppe del Lungo | Firenze 1925 | viola tenore | Fernando Ferroni | Firenze sd | |
| violino | Piero Parravicini | Milano 1923 | controviolino | Valentino de Zorzi | Firenze 1914 | |
| violino | Gaetano Chiocchi | Padova 1870 | violoncello | Giuseppe Ornati | Milano 1928 | |
| violoncello | Alfredo Contino | Napoli 1932 |
A cura di: Virginia Villa, Direttore Generale Fondazione Museo del Violino Antonio Stradivari Cremona
Fausto Cacciatori, Conservatore delle Collezioni Museo del Violino, ideatore e coordinatore scientifico del progetto