Oldest violin in the world

Watch the World’s Oldest Violin in Action: Marco Rizzi Performs Schumann’s Sonata No. 2 on a 1566 Amati Violin









Most of us are acquaint­ed with the sor­row­ful sound of the world’s small­est vio­lin, but what of the world’s old­est?

The instru­ment in the video above dates back to 1566.

Mean­ing, if it were the patri­arch of a human fam­i­ly, sir­ing musi­cal sons every 20 to 25 years, it would take more than 10 gen­er­a­tions to get to com­pos­er Robert Schu­mann, born in 1810.

And then anoth­er 31 years for Schu­mann to com­pose Sonata No. 2 for Vio­lin and Piano in D minor, Op . 121, the piece vio­lin­ist Mar­co Rizzi–age unknown–coaxes from this love­ly piece of wood.

Were you to peek at the back, you’d see traces of King Charles IX of France’s coat of arms. The Latin mot­to
Pietate et Justi­tia
–piety and justice–still lingers on its rib.

It was con­struct­ed by the mas­ter cre­ator, Andrea Amati, as part of a large set of stringed instru­ments, of which it is one of four sur­vivors of its size and class.

After leav­ing Charles’ court, the vio­lin spent time in the Hen­ry Hot­tinger col­lec­tion, which was even­tu­al­ly acquired by the Wurl­itzer Co

FAMOUS VIOLINS


Questions and Answers

One of these four labels is a fake. Which one is it?


The Sassoon 1733

The Davidov (Cello) 1712

The Lady Ley 1713

The Cessol 1716


To the untrained eye the only clue as to the origin of an apparently time worn violin is the label pasted to the inside body. Violin labels are easy to fake and many, many, imitations have been produced over the years.

All of these labels would pass a cursory inspection but a closer look reveals the forgery. Click the images for a closer look. Answer (right)







A 5,000-year-old Bog Oak discovered in Norfolk, UK, has inspired a violin maker to create a one-of-a-kind violin.

Initially reluctant to use such ancient, dense wood, Philip Taylor was ultimately convinced by a wood preservation expert after he showed him a guitar made from the same Bog Oak.

Despite concerns about the instrument’s potential sound and responsiveness, Taylor’s
Bog Oak violin
exceeded expectations with its rich, clear tone. Even the pegs, crafted from the same material, defied the skepticism of Taylor’s regular peg maker, proving to be a suitable choice.






Why it matters:  
Due to the growing scarcity of traditional materials, violin makers are starting to embrace the exploration of alternative woods for crafting exquisite musical instruments. Violins like the Bog Oak violin mark successful examples supporting non-traditional woods in instrument-making.


Eat your heart out, Amati:
While the Bog Oak Violin has the oldest wood, the oldest actual violin is thought to be the “Charles IX” crafted by Andrea Amati in Cremona in 1564. Some believe another 1500s Amati violin at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the oldest, but there


The origins of the Violin

The birth of the violin


Though the violin was introduced to the world in the middle of the sixteenth century, there was a similar looking instrument made in about the fourteenth century called the viol.The viol thrived in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the violin and the viol actually coexisted in the Baroque period.
Instruments in the viol family did not have the f-shaped sound hole of the violin but rather a C-shaped sound hole or even some more decorative shape. The viol differs from the violin in that it has six, seven, or more strings tuned in fourths (compared with the four strings of the violin tuned in fifths), a fretted fingerboard, and a relatively thick body because of the sloping shoulder shape at the joint where the neck meets the body. There are various sizes, but the Viola da Gamba, which has a lower register similar to that of the cello, was particularly famous.