Claudio Rampini Posted September 7 Report Share Posted September 7 This morning, from the Library of Congress site I found this beautiful interview to Sacconi at the Wurlitzer lab. You can see there Dario D'Attili, Lee and Margaret Wurlitzer, and above all Sacconi showing the classic cremonese method to make violins. I had never heard about this interview, have you? https://www.loc.gov/item/2023602026/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBK Posted September 7 Report Share Posted September 7 Great Video. Thanks for posting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bick Posted September 7 Report Share Posted September 7 Very cool. At the risk of sounding naiive, what was Sacconi's secret for his process? He mentions only 3 people knew it - was this to pique interest? Is it to be believed? I'm aware of his book, but have not read it. Last I heard, the secret is that there is no secret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Dorsey Posted September 8 Report Share Posted September 8 2 hours ago, bick said: ...what was Sacconi's secret for his process?...I'm aware of his book, but have not read it.... The title of Sacconi's book is "The 'Secrets' of Stradivari," with the word "secrets" in quotation marks. The book's preface says that the quotation marks were used "to attempt to remove the myth by refusing to reduce [Stradivari's] work and art to...a singular all mysterious secret." Instead, Stradivari only used "the ordinary means then at the disposal of any other contemporary luthier." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Alberson Posted September 8 Report Share Posted September 8 Great find thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bick Posted September 8 Report Share Posted September 8 Thank you for the info Brad. Occam's razor still applies it seems! 10 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said: Stradivari only used "the ordinary means then at the disposal of any other contemporary luthier." In the video, he specifically mentions that part of his process is secret. Is that secret (in the video) the same 'secret'(s) that are described in his book? Thank you for entertaining my curiosity. Seems to me that despite there being "no secret", the aire of mystery must have been enticing enough for him to continue to proport that there was one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.DiLisio Posted September 8 Report Share Posted September 8 Stradivari's secret exposed! Learn to make perfect violins with this one trick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted September 8 Report Share Posted September 8 Very interesting to see an actual video of him! What ever happened with his 'successor' and what ever happened to the lady I wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Shillitoe Posted September 9 Report Share Posted September 9 That looks like a lot of people sharing a bench! How many inches of space does a repair person in a big shop normally get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Kraemer Posted September 9 Report Share Posted September 9 10 minutes ago, Ed Shillitoe said: That looks like a lot of people sharing a bench! How many inches of space does a repair person in a big shop normally get? Probably all done for the camera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudio Rampini Posted September 9 Author Report Share Posted September 9 21 hours ago, MikeC said: Very interesting to see an actual video of him! What ever happened with his 'successor' and what ever happened to the lady I wonder. From a letter of David Segal, 1984 (translation by Google): "...The real explanation for all this, and the real tragedy, was that toward the end of his life he was being rejected by his own people. They no longer appreciated what he did and were too proud or envious to admit that he was still greater than ever. I believe that this kind of situation contributed greatly to his death and subsequently to the decision to close the great House of Wurlitzer." Here the Segal's letter in memory of Sacconi, 1984: https://www.violiniacremona.com/david-segal-and-sacconi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerardM Posted September 11 Report Share Posted September 11 What was the location of the workshop? I’m curious to know who occupies the space now. That’s if the building still exists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerardM Posted September 11 Report Share Posted September 11 16 West 61 Street. New York. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Pope Posted September 11 Report Share Posted September 11 At the time of the interview the shop was on W 42th St, 130 I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Higgs Posted September 11 Report Share Posted September 11 I also wondered about the one young girl in the shop. As best I can tell from my internet search: She is Marianne Wurlitzer. She married the late Gene Bruck, and they started their own business of collecting, buying, and selling instruments. She lives in New York and still has her own web page: https://www.wurlitzerbruck.com/about-us.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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