"Art is knowing how to infuse a painting, a sculpture, an architecture, a melody...
with something of that which does not die in the soul "
Costruzione Restauro strumenti ad arco Violino Viola Violoncello Cremona Cello Geige Bratsche Violinmaker Violin Orchestra Music Luthier Quartetto
My passion for music and bowed string instruments led me to pursue the art of violin making at the International Violin Making School of Parma, where I studied under the expert guidance of Maestro Renato Scrollavezza.
In 2001, I established my own workshop in the historic city of Cremona, where I continue to build and restore fine stringed instruments.
I began my musical studies when I was very young. I started playing piano and then moved on to violin and viola, until I obtained the Conservatory Diplomas.
As a violinist and violist I have collaborated with many orchestras and chamber groups also as a soloist in Italy and abroad.
I played with the Petruzzelli Theater Orchestra until the disastrous fire of 1991.
M° Renato Scrollavezza and I in Genoa.
I'm playing "Il Cannone", Paganini's violin.
My workshop is located in the heart of Cremona.
In the birthplace of Claudio Monteverdi.
There, I dedicate myself to the construction and restoration of fine stringed instruments.
I was invited to participate with my instruments in exhibitions at the Violin Museum of Cremona, at the National Gallery of Parma. My instruments are in Taiwan, USA, UK, Israel, Germany, Austria, Spain, Czech Republic, China, Italy.
There is an intangible aspect in the art of violin making which attracts me strongly: the cration of an instruments that over time, acquire their own "personality". Each instrument becomes the expression of the luthier who crafted it and of the musicians who bring it to life. Time, adds the depth, character, and aura that define truly great instruments.
The challenge of contemporary lutherie is to deal with a "form", the violin, that has remained essentially unchanged since its emergence in the late Renaissance until today, and which has reached such aesthetic and acustic perfection that any variation would be inappropriate and inconsistent.
Even today, in the construction of the instruments we use techniques that have been inherited from the classical tradition in the attempt, perhaps, not to break that delicate thread that binds us to the knowledge and wisdom of the past.
By using models inspired by Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesù etc., and personally preparing varnishes after recipes that were already well known in the sixteenth century, we create instruments that have the patina of the time.The choice of wood is also very important in the search for the "ideal" sound. It has been seasoned for years and selected for both its aesthetic and acoustic qualities.
Knowledge, sensitivity and instinct guide luthiers in their own creative path, to create a violin from small insignificant pieces of wood.
© Giuseppe Arrè
