A modern cello of exceptional value. Robin Aitchison has been making copies of a 1755 Guadagnini cello for many years. Through careful wood selection and intensive study of the original’s arching, thicknessing and varnish, Robin’s copies come very close to re-creating the distinctive tone and appearance of the original instrument. The original instrument has a fiery orange varnish and Robin has been able to reproduce this.
Guadagnini cellos have a very quick response, due to their size. The tone colour is complex and the cello has a very beautiful A string sound. The enlarged model has more depth of tone in the lower registers than the original model. The short string length is liberating for the player, making the cello more manageable and facilitating greater virtuosity. Guadagninis are favoured by soloists such as Natalie Clein, David Geringas, Pieter Wispelwey and Maxine Neuman.
This model can be seen as the final destination of the classical Italian school of cello making on a long journey from the very large scale instruments made circa 1650 to Guadagnini’s small cellos circa 1750. This journey was a response both to continuing developments in string making and to the more virtuosic cello repertoire. For much of his working life G B Guadagnini was the greatest surviving violin maker in the world.
It comes with with silver mounted Finkel bow (by Lefin), and is offered on behalf of Diane and Mark Davies.