Italian soloist violin, Luigi Mozzani, Rovereto 1930 (certificate by Bernhard Franke)

This exceptionally powerful Italian violin was crafted during the heyday of the Liuteria Italiana Luigi Mozzani, and it pays full tribute to its legacy from the workshop of the internationally esteemed musician, composer and instrument maker Mozzani. With its self-confident style that is evident down to the finest details and its superior musical properties, the violin shows the long journey Mozzani underwent since his workshop was first founded in around 1908. Hailing from a poor family, the talented musician first rose through the ranks as an oboist in the New York Philharmonic under Toscanini – all the while pursuing his passion for the guitar and the wide range of Italian plucked instruments in addition to his demanding position. The liuteria he later opened in his Italian homeland thus served as an extremely innovative and even experimental project that formed an integral component of Mozzani’s second career as a soloist and composer which gained momentum in the early years of the 20th century. He received technical support from the Fiorini student Carlo Carletti, who himself became the father of a generation of excellent luthiers and who ensured that Mozzani’s workshop was at the peak of Italian violin making from the very beginning. The period around 1930, which is when this violin was created, was a phase of transition for the liuteria: Mozzani had taken a 16-year hiatus from performing so he could focus his attention on crafting guitars and violins, but this long pause was drawing to a close. At the same time, Italian fascism was asserting itself into every aspect of society with increasing force, thus obstructing the artistic liberties of the work done at Mozzani’s business and ultimately ending it in 1934. Seen in this context, the unmistakable individual character of this instrument can be seen as the summation of a development which articulates Mozzani’s artisanal heritage. Its immediately striking merits include the confidence with which the interestingly grained tone woods were selected and the aesthetic sensitivity with which they were carved; other features include the independently crafted model with its flat table and the typical shape of the sound holes. The rich coat of orange-brownish oil varnish and the expressive scroll are finishing touches to the clear homage to the Italian violin making tradition that defines the entire instrument – an homage which is also evident in the unique melting sound for which violins from the cradle of European violin making are well known. Supported by a great clarity and radiance, the violin, which has been maintained in perfect condition, has a reliability and lightness in the wealth of timbre and its pleasant warmth open up in terms of delightful options for musical interpretation. After having painstakingly set up the violin, we now offer it in top condition ready to play, and it features a certificate of authenticity of the highly esteemed expert Bernhard Franke from Stuttgart.