Giovanni Francesco Pressenda is one of the finest violin makers of the 19^th century, and the father of the modern Turin school.  For many years experts believed Pressenda apprenticed in Cremona, but scholarly studies have proved that he apprenticed with one of the French violin workshops in Turin, such as those of Lété and Calot.  Pressenda’s early instruments showed a strong influence of the French school in his choice of a Stradivarian model and refined craftsmanship, and evolved to a more personal style by 1830.  It was in this period that he developed his rich, red varnish, elongated f-holes, and the prominent scribe line down the center of the scroll,  which became hallmarks of the Turin school.

The foundation’s violin by Giovanni Francesco Pressenda, dated 1828, is known as the “Bellarosa” due to its beautiful deep red varnish for which Pressenda is famous. The violin has a striking one-piece back of wide-flamed maple on the slant.  The top has a rare Hazelficht (bear-claw) pattern upon the lower bout. The scroll has the scribe line down the center and blackened chamfers, typical of Pressenda’s instruments.  The violin, being from Pressenda’s early period, is completely of his own hand before he took on shop assistants, such as Giuseppe Rocca.  The violin has a powerful and projecting sound of true soloist quality and beauty.

Giovanni Francesco Pressenda is one of the finest violin makers of the 19^th century, and the father of the modern Turin school.  For many years experts believed Pressenda apprenticed in Cremona, but scholarly studies have proved that he apprenticed with one of the French violin workshops in Turin, such as those of Lété and Calot.  Pressenda’s early instruments showed a strong influence of the French school in his choice of a Stradivarian model and refined craftsmanship, and evolved to a more personal style by 1830.  It was in this period that he developed his rich, red varnish, elongated f-holes, and the prominent scribe line down the center of the scroll,  which became hallmarks of the Turin school.

The foundation’s violin by Giovanni Francesco Pressenda, dated 1828, is known as the “Bellarosa” due to its beautiful deep red varnish for which Pressenda is famous. The violin has a striking one-piece back of wide-flamed maple on the slant.  The top has a rare Hazelficht (bear-claw) pattern upon the lower bout. The scroll has the scribe line down the center and blackened chamfers, typical of Pressenda’s instruments.  The violin, being from Pressenda’s early period, is completely of his own hand before he took on shop assistants, such as Giuseppe Rocca.  The violin has a powerful and projecting sound of true soloist quality and beauty.

Francesco Rugeri (1628-1698) was the patriarch and most famous luthier of the great Cremonese violin making family, Casa Rugeri . Rugeri’s work has often been associated with Nicoló Amati and his “Grand Pattern” violin, however there is no documentary evidence that he was present at the Amati workshop.  Even though they did not work together, the Rugeri and Amati families had a close social relationship.   Amati was godfather to Francesco Rugeri’s son, Giacinto.  Amati’s dominance of the violin making trade in the city of Cremona was strong enough in the late 1600’s that Rugeri never achieved great renown in his lifetime, yet today his instruments are held in the same esteem to those of Amati.

The foundation’s violin, from 1690, is typical of Rugeri’s finest work.  It has a two-piece back of medium curl maple, and a golden-brown varnish of exceptional beauty and soft texture.  It is in an excellent state of preservation, except for the scroll, which was replaced by Otto Karl Schenk.  The violin has a beautifully pure and harmonically rich sound.  The instrument was played by Ilya Gringolts for many years as his primary concert instrument, and can be heard on multiple recordings.  The violin was also a feature instrument in the 2008 Strad Magazine calendar.