The Violin Chronicles Podcast

Linda Lespets

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MUSIC HISTORY

The Violin Chronicles Podcast

Have you ever wondered what the lives of legendary violin makers such as Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati were like? What was happening in their lives when they made these extraordinary instruments? And just what were the secrets of the Cremonese violin makers? Come and discover the fascinating lives of famous luthiers on the Violin Chronicles Podcast.

10/11/2024

Ep 31. Pietro Guarneri of Mantua part 4

Here we are! The final chapter in the life of Pietro Guarneri of Mantua, a distinguished violin maker, and his experiences during a turbulent period in history. Pietro's mother-in-law joins their household in 1700. Pietro's style of violin making has evolved substantially, reflecting the broader and bolder designs of his instruments. However, family tensions arise as his brother Giuseppe fails to pay Pietro his share of their father's inheritance, eventually resolving the dispute after several years. Meanwhile, historical events significantly impact Pietro’s life. The death of the King of Spain in 1700 sparks the War of Spanish Succession, embroiling Mantua in conflict as the French and Austrians vie for control over northern Italian territories. This period sees devastating consequences for Pietro's family, including the death of his daughter Eleonora and the chronic instability caused by shifting political powers. Despite these challenges, Pietro continues his craft, even as the Austrians eventually claim Mantua what will happen to our violin maker Pietro Guarneri? Personal tragedies persist with the death of more children, but Pietro forges on, making exquisite instruments until his death in 1720. Mantua is transforming how will the art of the violin makers survive this upheaval?

35 min
03/11/2024

Ep 30. Pietro of Mantua Part 3

Welcome back to the complex and eventful life of Pietro Guarneri of Mantua. This episode explores Pietro's struggle of managing six children alone, the influence of Jacob Steiner on his instruments, and the familial conflicts over inheritance. We look at Pietro's work for the court of Mantua, including his decorated instruments with the fleur de lis patterns, why did he do this? Find out all! The episode also touches on the personal hardships Pietro faced, such as the death of his wife Caterina and subsequent remarriage to Lucia Birani. Financial challenges, especially related to dowries and house payments, are prominent, alongside Pietro's continuous dedication to his craft and the musical court despite political instability. Andrea Guarneri's death left a few curved balls for his sons to sort out, let see how the brothers (Pietro of Mantua and Giuseppe Filius Andrea) manage.

35 min
27/10/2024

Ep 29. Pietro of Mantua Part 2

In this episode of The Violin Chronicles, the life of Pietro Guarneri, Andrea Guarneri's eldest son, continues as he and his wife Caterina move to Mantua, a culturally rich yet politically tumultuous city. This episode opens a window onto Pietro's daily life, his tasks for the imprudent Duke Ferdinando Carlo, and the socio-political environment of 17th-century Mantua. This episode also explores the impact of European power struggles, particularly the War of the Spanish Succession, on the Guarneri family and Mantuan society. Pietro's craftsmanship, family dynamics, and interactions with the declining ducal court stand at the forefront, offering a rich historical tapestry in which our violin maker despite tough times was making a go of it.

23 min
20/10/2024

Ep 28. Pietro Guarneri of Mantua Part 1

Never get your Pietro Guarneri's mixed up again! Pietro Guarneri of Mantua was Andrea Guarneri's eldest son, both a talented maker and musician, so why did he leave his home town to go work for a narcissistic socialite down the road? Find out as we take a look at this often forgotten Guarneri at the opulent and downright turbulent court of the Gonzaga's. Pietro Guarneri of Mantua, a fascinating yet often overlooked figure in violin making history. This episode covers Pietro's colourful life, beginning with his birth in Cremona in 1655, his early years working alongside his father Andrea Guarneri, and his move to Mantua. Pietro's journey is marked by personal tragedies, including the loss of his first child, and professional aspirations driven by his exceptional talent both as a craftsman and a musician. The episode also delves into the political complexities of Mantua, its court life, and the intrigues surrounding its rulers. Pietro's move to Mantua to work under the Gonzaga court, his successful establishment as both a musician and an instrument maker, and the legacy he left behind form the crux of this engaging historical account.

45 min
15/09/2024

Ep 27. Andrea Guarneri Part 2. his 3 sons and his 3 wills.

Continue listening to the life of Andrea Guarneri, student of Nicolo Amati and father of 2 very important violin makers. To listen to this episode I invite you to sign up to Patreon, you can do this at Patreon/thevioinchronicles.com

25 sec
11/09/2024

Ep 26. Andrea Guarneri Part 1 The founding father

Andrea Guarneri was the first in the line of Guarneri violin makers and he is the link with the Amati family, having been apprenticed to Nicolo Amati, but as you will see this family will soon break away from the Amati tradition and start creating their own unique style. the Guarneri family of violin makers. Take a look with me at Andrea's early life amidst war, famine, and the plague, and his apprenticeship under the esteemed Niccolo Amati, who had lost many family members to the plague. Andrea becomes a trusted apprentice and eventually moves out of the Amati household to get married to Anna Maria Orcelli. How will Andrea evolve in his work and business success working just around the corner from the great Nicolo Amati?

3 min
23/04/2024

Ep 25. Giovanni Battista Rogeri Part 2

In this second episode on Giovanni Battista Rogeri we look at his family and children. Living in Brescia also meant that Rogeri was in the heart of an Opera loving people close to Venice and an exciting time musically and instrumentally. Transcript Hello and welcome to the Violin Chronicles, a podcast in which I, Linda Lespets, will attempt to bring to life the story surrounding famous, infamous, or just not very well known, but interesting, violin makers of history. I'm a violin maker and restorer. I graduated from the French Violin Making School some years ago now, and I currently live and work in Sydney with my husband, Antoine, who is also a violin maker and graduate of the French school, l'Ecole Nationale de Luthierie in Mircourt. As well as being a luthier, I've always been intrigued with the history of instruments I work with, and in particular, the lives of those who made them. So often when we look back at history, I know that I have a tendency to look at just one aspect. But here my aim is to join up the puzzle pieces and have a look at an altogether fascinating picture. So join me as I wade through tales not only of fame, famine and war, but also of love, artistic genius, revolutionary craftsmanship, determination, cunning and bravery that all have their part to play in the history of the violin. Welcome back to part two of The Life of Giovanni Battista Rogeri. In the last episode of the Violin Chronicles, we looked at Rogeri's early life. His apprenticeship with the master Niccolo Amati himself in Cremona. He's moved to Brescia seeking out greener pastures. And now he is in Brescia where we will see his style really come into its own and take a look at this thing Opera, that was really changing the musical landscape for musicians and instrument makers alike. So stay with me as we take a dive into the life and career of Giovanni Battista Ruggieri. Not Ruggeri, Rogeri. Before we move on, I would like to say that I am an independent podcaster and really appreciate the support people have been showing in helping this show happen. If you would like to be one of those people helping me make more content for you to enjoy, consider going to patreon.com forward slash the violin chronicles, where you can have access to extra episode and help make things happen. We now find ourselves in the home of Laura and Giovanni Rugeri. The year after this young couple married in 1665, they had their first child called Pietro Giacomo and would go on to have at least six more children. Two years after Pietro's birth, they had another son called Gio Paolo. These two sons would be the only surviving boys of the Rogeri's five sons and would go on to become violin makers as well. In these early years, there is not much we know about Giovanni Battista Rogeri's work, but five years on, into the 1670s, we see an active workshop Giovanni definitely had his own style. When working for Niccolò Amati, his hand can be seen in that cremonese workshop as his instruments differed to those of Niccolò. His bolder style even influenced the young Girolamo II Amati in the development of his own characteristic instruments. Now, if you can cast your minds back to the first few episodes of the Violin Chronicles, where we spoke about the city of Brescia, we looked at its close connection with Venice. And now that Venice is embracing this exciting new art form called opera, it's no surprise that Brescia is not far behind. And the year before Rogeri married, in 1664, Brescia opened its very own commercial opera house. And this first theatre was called the Teatro degli Erranti. Cremona would never embrace opera to the extent that the Venetian state did. And here we find Giovanni Battista Rogeri setting up his workshop in the midst of this exciting time for the city of Brescia. Here I talk to Stephen Mould about how opera was so different to anything people had ever seen how it was pulling on human emotion and the impact music would have had on pe

1 min
23/04/2024

Ep 24. Giovanni Battista Rogeri Part I

Giovanni Battista Rogeri has often been confused with other makers such as the Rugeri family, because of his name, and Giovanni Paolo Maggini, because of his working style. Trained in the famous workshop of Nicolo Amati in Cremona, Rogeri set out to make a name for himself in Brescia creating a Cremonese Brescian fusion. Learn all about this often mistaken maker in this first episode on the life of Giovanni Battista Rogeri. This is the story of Giovanni Battista Rogeri the Cremonese trained violin maker who made it big in Brescia and has since been confused with other makers throughout history. Florian Leonhard talks about the influences Rogeri pulled on and exactly why his instruments have for so long been attributed to Giovanni Paolo Maggini. Transcript Far, far away in a place called Silene, in what is now modern day Libya, there was a town that was plagued by an evil venom spewing dragon, who skulked in the nearby lake, wreaking havoc on the local population. To prevent this dragon from inflicting its wrath upon the people of Silene, the leaders of the town offered the beast two sheep every day in an attempt to ward off its reptilian mood swings. But when this was not enough, they started feeding the scaly creature a sheep and a man. Finally, they would offer the children and the youths of the town to the insatiable beast, the unlucky victims being chosen by lottery. As you can imagine, this was not a long term sustainable option. But then, one day, the dreaded lot fell to the king's daughter. The king was devastated and offered all his gold and silver, if only they would spare his beloved daughter. The people refused, and so the next morning at dawn, the princess approached the dragon's lair by the lake, dressed as a bride to be sacrificed to the hungry animal. It just so happened that a knight who went by the name of St George was passing by at that very moment and happened upon the lovely princess out for a morning stroll. Or so he thought. But when it was explained to him by the girl that she was in fact about to become someone else's breakfast and could he please move on and mind his own business he was outraged on her behalf and refused to leave her side. Either she was slightly unhinged and shouldn't be swanning about lakes so early in the morning all by herself, or at least with only a sheep for protection, or she was in grave danger and definitely needed saving. No sooner had Saint George and the princess had this conversation than they were interrupted by a terrifying roar as the dragon burst forth from the water, heading straight towards the girl. Being the nimble little thing she was, the princess dodged the sharp claws. As she was zigzagging away from danger, George stopped to make the sign of the cross and charged the gigantic lizard, thrusting Ascalon, that was the name of his sword, yep he named it, into the four legged menace and severely wounded the beast. George called to the princess to throw him her girdle, That's a belt type thing, and put it around the dragon's neck. From then on, wherever the young lady walked, the dragon followed like a meek beast. Back to the city of Silene went George, the princess, and the dragon, where the animal proceeded to terrify the people. George offered to kill the dragon if they consented to becoming Christian. George is sounding a little bit pushy, I know. But the people readily agreed and 15, 000 men were baptized, including the king. St. George killed the dragon, slicing off its head with his trusty sword, Ascalon, and it was carried out of the city on four ox carts. The king built a church to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. George on the site where the dragon was slain and a spring flowed from its altar with water that it is said would cure all diseases. This is the story of Saint George and the Princess. It is a classic story of good versus evil, and of disease healing miracles that would have spoken to the inhabitants of 17th century Bre

43 min

Have you ever wondered what the lives of legendary violin makers such as Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati were like? What was happening in their lives when they made these extraordinary instruments? And just what were the secrets of the Cremonese violin makers? Come and discover the fascinating lives of famous luthiers on the Violin Chronicles Podcast.

Creator

Linda Lespets
Years Active

2023 - 2024
Episodes

35
Rating

Clean
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© Copyright 2022 All rights reserved.
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The Violin Chronicles Podcast

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