• A Comparison of Five Violins: Recording Notes by Nicholas Kitchen In May 2007 the "Goldberg" violin was donated to the Library of Congress. The "Goldberg" violin joined its "twin," the "Kreisler" violin to become part of the Library's collection. At that moment, the violin officially became the "Goldberg Baron Vitta" Guarneri del Gesú violin.
• Twin Guarneri Violins Reunited at Library Shown side-by-side, the wood from which these two Guarneri violins were made displays similar patterns in the grain, suggesting they are twins made from the same piece of wood. Evidence suggests that two violins brought together briefly at the Library this year, perhaps for the first time in 276 years, are twins.
• Violin by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1699, "Castelbarco" Violin by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1699, "Castelbarco" [Front and back views of complete, strung instrument]. Performing Arts Reading Room, Library of Congress. This violin was, with the "Castelbarco" cello of 1697, once a part of the quartet of Stradivaris owned by Count Cesare Castelbarco of Milan. After the count died, it was sold in London to Jean Baptiste Vuillaume. The violin later was sold…
• Violin by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1700, "Ward" Violin by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1700, "Ward." [Front and back views of complete, strung instrument]. Performing Arts Reading Room, Library of Congress. The "Ward" acquired its name from J. Ward of London. Ward owned the violin for over 40 years; on his death it passed to the Hills. The violin next was Swiss-owned, before being returned to England, where it came into the possession…
• Violin by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1704, "Betts" Violin by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1704, "Betts" [Full strung instrument, front and back]. Performing Arts Reading Room, Library of Congress. The "Betts" is among the most legendary violins from Stradivari's workshop. Part of that status comes from the circumstances of its acquisition. In about 1820, an individual entered Betts' shop at the Royal Exchange in London and offered the violin in its pristine state.…
• Violin by Nicolo Amati, Cremona, 1654, "Brookings" Violin by Nicolo Amati, Cremona, 1654, "Brookings" [Front and back views of complete, strung instrument]. Performing Arts Reading Room, Library of Congress. Robert Somers Brookings, an economist, founded in 1916 what became the Brookings Institution, a respected private nonprofit public policy organization. He is believed to have acquired this violin in Europe on the advice of Joseph Joachim, the great German virtuoso and Brahms'…
• Violin by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris, ca. 1871 Violin by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris, ca. 1871 [Full strung instrument, front]. Performing Arts Reading Room, Library of Congress. A violin and a bow, made by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume in1871, and owned by James Corbett French, was donated to the Music Division in 2000 by his widow, Mildred B. French. French, a professional violinist, tenor soloist, and voice teacher, collected violins as a hobby.…
• Violin by Giuseppe Guarneri, Cremona , ca. 1730, "Kreisler" Violin by Giuseppe Guarneri, Cremona, ca. 1730, "Kreisler." Performing Arts Reading Room, Library of Congress. Fritz Kreisler acquired this violin from the Hills in 1926; they had long regarded it as among the finest works of Guarneri's early years. The violin was described in Hills'1931 opus, The Violin-makers of the Guarneri Family (1626-1762): Their Life and Work. Prior to Kreisler's acquisition, the violin had…
• Violin by Giuseppe Guarneri, Cremona, ca. 1730, "Goldberg-Baron Vitta" Violin by Giuseppe Guarneri, Cremona, ca. 1730, "Goldberg-Baron Vitta." Performing Arts Reading Room, Library of Congress. A violinmaker from Cremona, Italy, Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesú (1698-1744), created a small group of violins used by virtually every virtuoso from Nicolo Paganini to Jascha Heifetz to Fritz Kreisler, and, more recently, by extraordinary violinists such as Szymon Goldberg. In around 1730 in Cremona, Italy, Guarneri del…