Gaetano Sgarabotto, one of the most admired violin makers of the first half of the twentieth century, reveals his "secrets" to his son Pietro, who transcribes them in several notebooks and compiles in 1936 the first manual in modern Italy about the construction of bowed instruments, published for the first time today. Retracing the activity of Gaetano as a restorer, imitator and scholar minutely gathering fragments, casts and notes, classical violin making comes to a new life in Pietro's writings, foreshadowing the "secrets" by Simone Fernando Sacconi.
I Segreti di Sgarabotto
Gaetano and Pietro Sgarabotto portrayed in 1926
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Over 50 replicas and 35 new instruments illustrating the careers of Gaetano, Pietro and their followers.
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Comprehensive biography and historical context survey supported by new archival research.
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Extensive coverage of materials originating from the Sgarabotto workshop: notebooks, casts of classical parts, and the violin making manual "Teorico e pratico di liuteria", drawn in 1936 and previously unpublished.
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Scientific analyses by the Laboratori Arvedi (Museo del Violino) of the coatings of classical instruments' parts collected by Sgarabotto.
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De Luxe edition only, 656 pages in 32 by 23,5 cm format.
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Printing limited to 400 numbered copies, texts in Italian and English.
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Cover price 300 € plus 4% VAT (if applicable) and shipping cost.
“It is probably the most thorough and direct step-by-step account of the methods and techniques of any leading violin maker (…) This book is now the definitive account of the Sgarabottos, and an important part of Italian violin making history”
John Dilworth, The Strad, February 2020
