Chapter IX: Section XV: Anecdotes and Miscellanea Connected with the Violin

Hudibras and the Champion Crowdero--George Herbert's references to Music--Christopher Simpson's Trinity in Unity--Shakespeare's Sonnet VIII.--Violins from a medical point of view--"A Musician"--Origin of Tartini's "Sonato del Diavolo"--Dr. Johnson and the Violin--Dr. Johnson on the Difficulty of Playing the Violin--Dr. Johnson's Epitaph on Phillips, the Welsh Violinist--Dr. Johnson's Knowledge of Music--Dr. Johnson on Fiddling and Freewill--Haydn in London: a "Sweet Stradivari;" Letters of the Rev. Thomas Twining--Gainsborough as a musician--Garrick and Cervetto--The King and the Player--Sir Walter Scott on Music and Fiddles; the Duke of Hamilton's passion for the Violin--A Cinderella Violoncello--A Stolen "Strad"--The Missing Scroll--Another Wandering Scroll--A Montagnana Instrument shot through the body--Fiddle Marks and the Credulous Dabblers--"Guarneri" at a Discount--Dragonetti's Gasparo: Letter thereon by Mr. Samuel Appleby--The Betts Stradivari: Letter by the late Charles Reade--Leigh Hunt on Paganini--Thackeray on Orchestral Music--Spohr and his Guarneri--Spohr and the Collector--The Ettrick Shepherd and the Violin--The Fiddle Trade: "Old Borax" and "Michael Schnapps," the Fiddle-ogre--The Prince and the "Fugal Vortex"--Sale of Cremonese Instruments at Milan in 1790--An Indefatigable Violinist--A Wish--Living Stradivaris--Pleasures of Imagination--A Royal Amateur--Pius IX. and the Musician--Ole Bull and Fiddle Varnish--Letter from Tartini on the Treatment of the Violin . 410-507

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FRONTISPIECE--Paganini's "Giuseppe Guarneri." 1743.

PLATE FACING PAGE
I. Stradivari Viola. 1672 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

II. Jacobus Stainer. 1669
Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu
Niccolo Amati. Grand Pattern. 1641 . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

III. Violoncello by Antonio Stradivari . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

IV. Antonio Stradivari. 1734
The Gillott "Strad." 1715
Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu. 1734 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

V. Carlo Bergonzi Violoncello. Grand Pattern . . . . . . . . . 84

VI. J. B. Guadagnini
Storioni. 1797 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

VII. Specimens of Scrolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

VIII. Giuseppe Guarneri. 1742
Antonio Stradivari. 1711
Antonio Stradivari. 1703 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

IX. Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu. 1737 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

X. Domenico Montagnana Violoncello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

XI. Antonio Stradivari. Tenor. 1690
Antonio Stradivari. 1734 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

XII. Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu. 1738
The "Dolphin" Strad. 1714
Antonio Stradivari. 1718 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

XIII. Antonio Stradivari. 1702
Antonio Stradivari. 1722
Antonio Stradivari. 1703 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

XIV. Stradivari Violoncello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

XV. Chapel of the Rosary, Cremona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

XVI. Antonio Stradivari. 1708
Antonio Stradivari. 1736
Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu. 1735 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

XVII. The "Betts" Stradivari. 1704 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

XVIII. Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu
Antonio Stradivari (Inlaid). 1687 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

XIX. Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu. 1733
Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu. 1741
Antonio Stradivari. 1726 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

XX. Gasparo da Salo
Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu. 1735 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

XXI. Antonio Stradivari. 1690 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

"Marriage at Cana," by Paolo Veronese . . . . . . . . . . . 376

Tartini's Dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428

THE VIOLIN ITS FAMOUS MAKERS AND THEIR IMITATORS