Stainers of the Stainer Quartet

[Andres Sender]

I stumbled onto this site while rummaging the German side of the internet, and thought some here might be interested in it.

I'm a little skeptical of some of the factual information offered, i.e. I am aware of references to Geminiani playing an Andrea Amati, but no source is given for the site's claim that he played a Stainer. Still, here you are:

http://www.stainerquartett.ch/index.php?id=101

The German version of the article on Stainer includes a link to a pdf of a biographical essay in German which looks like an interesting read, and which Google will do a valiant attempt at translating for non German speakers.

[stradofear]

Cool. I didn't read anything, and went directly to the pix, first to the waist on the top. Bang! Up popped a violin with NO BOARD! I guess I should have read, first. :-)

[Ken_N]

Those instruments all look great. Stainers always look like Amati instruments to me. The arching is probably different, but the outlines sure look similar. I like the violins, but the viola and cello are really sweet. Even with the longer corners on the cello.

[hollenbach]

Not to hijack, but I'm wondering if anybody could tell me the brand of the D string. I've seen it in many places and assumed it was one of the Corelli lines but I haven't thought to ask until now.

[fiddlecollector]

Andres ,thanks for the link, the photos in the archives are nice!

[Jacob]

Not to hijack, but I'm wondering if anybody could tell me the brand of the D string. I've seen it in many places and assumed it was one of the Corelli lines but I haven't thought to ask until now.

There are four instruments.

Violin #1 D looks like Larsen, violin #2 Eudoxa - I could be wrong. The viola and cello D's seem to be plain gut, impossible to tell the brand.

[Steve R.]

Nice, thanks.

I find the shadow of a longer fingerboard on both the violins interesting.

[Andres Sender]

Interesting as evidence that they have been (sort of) re-converted to baroque? (Which is detailed on the site) or interesting as evidence for how varnish ages?

[hollenbach]

There are four instruments.

Violin #1 D looks like Larsen, violin #2 Eudoxa - I could be wrong. The viola and cello D's seem to be plain gut, impossible to tell the brand.

Yeah, I recognized that there are four. I was referring to the first page before one clicked into the photo album.

Vln #1 - the D string's dark windings are much too "tight" to be Larsen. Larsen's wrappings are loose. I think they go around the string a maximum of four or five times.

Vln #2 - It's Oliv.

[Steve R.]

Andres, Interesting as evidence for the reconversion and also somewhat about how the varnish aged. I presume the intesity of the shadow is related to the proportional time in each configuration. I now wonder if there is a second shadow at the Baroque length?

[bean_fidhleir]

I'd love to own that first one - the stigmata make it beautiful.

There's a dictum in art (and engineering) that it's supremely difficult to counterfeit something out of its time because we are such complete children of our own time that everything we do betrays us in some way. There's a sort of minor illustration of that in David van Zandt's copies of Stainer fiddles compared to these instruments: DvZ makes the f-holes a tiny bit too narrow and discontinuous, making them look slightly Strad-ish/GDG-ish (to my eyes).

It makes one wonder how someone like van Meegeren, poor bugger, could keep such a perfect eye and hand.

[Andres Sender]

It makes one wonder how someone like van Meegeren, poor bugger, could keep such a perfect eye and hand.

He didn't. The people who fell for his work were children of their time and blind as bats as far as I can tell.

[Steve R.]

I like the first one also. The f holes have a graceful look to them and to my Stainer model trained eyes, it just looks "right".

[bean_fidhleir]

He didn't. The people who fell for his work were children of their time and blind as bats as far as I can tell.

I won't try to dispute your judgment, but this particular fake, at least, sure looks good to me!

http://www.meegeren.net/images/uploads/z%2...%20%5B2x%5D.jpg

Given that he pulled the noses of a lot of the Big Wheels of his day, the equivalent of the Beares, Hills, etc, it makes me wonder how many of today's big fiddle certs are rubbish. How many of his forgeries would ever have been disclosed had it not been for the Göring connection and collab charge?

[Andres Sender]

Ah I must apologize Bean, for me van Meegeren calls to mind only the Vermeer forgeries, and I was thinking solely of those when I made my comment. I have no comment either way as to his forgeries of other painters.