Violin

In fact, before the violin, there are three groups of similar instruments: viola da Gamba, lira da bracio (playing the forerunner of today's bow) and viola da bracio was the forerunner of the violin. Its final form, the violin gets in the period between 1520-1550 in northern Italy. But this is not the end. Although it got its final form violin maker tirelessly continue to make it less permanent changes in dimensions in order to achieve that ratio proportionally in the construction time and achieve higher quality and stronger tone. The names of the oldest violin maker still not known, but is assumed that these were the builders of lute.
The first known creators were Giovani Giacomo Dalla Corn (1484 to 1580) , Zanetti de Michelis Montechiaro (1488 to 1562) and Andrea Amati, (born between 1500 and 1505 to 1570, while there and claims that he was born around 1520 and lived until 1611). Several Amati violin exist today, for example two string instruments in the Museum of Oxford – Ashmolean.
It is known that Charles IX of France 1560th asked Amati to make a 38 stringed instruments, and to 24 violins, 6 viola, 8 cello . The oldest surviving violin, dated inside, is from this set, and is known as the "Charles IX," made in Cremona 1560. Founders of the famous Cremona school were Antonio Amati (1555-1640?), Girolamo Amati (1556-1630) and his son Nikolo Amati (1596-1684). Students of Nikolo Amatija were Girolamo II Amati (1649-1740), Andrea Guarneri (1626-1698), GB Ruggeri (1666-1696), Francesco Ruggeri (1645-1700), Paolo Grancino (1655-1692) and it is believed that the Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) was one of them.
The finest Renaissance carved and decorated violin in the world is the Gasparo da Salo (1574) owned by Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, and later from 1841, by the Norwegian virtuoso Ole Bull, who used it for forty years and thousands of concerts, for his very powerful and beautiful tone, similar to those of a Guarneri. It is now in the Vestlandske Kustindustrimuseum in Bergen (Norway).
Also "Le Messie" (also known as the "Salabue") made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 remains pristine, never having been used, now is located in Asmolean Museum in Oxford.
Widely known for making good the violin Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri, also originating from northern Italy, from Cremona.
Stradivari has hundreds violin of the world, but it is considered that only 50 have concert quality. During his life Stradivari made over 1,000 instruments.
The most valuable instruments that Stradivari made during his 'golden period', the 1700th to 1720th year. Violin “Betts' is in the Library of Congress in Washington and on it is playing only on the occasion of the American public holidays.
Another important name in the history of masterpieces Bergonzi Carlo (1686-1747), Stradivari best student who continued to celebrate the Cremona school making superb instruments.
Giuseppe Guarnieri del Gesu was not so productive as Stradivari, most probably because he lived almost half less than Stradivari (everything is made somewhere around 200 while the violins Stradivari made about 1,000). To this day, instruments from the "Golden Age" of violin making, especially those made by Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù, are the most sought-after instruments by both collectors and performers.