This article is part of the Fiddle & Violin series. |
| Basic physics of the violin |
| Fiddlers |
| History of the violin |
| Luthiers |
| Musical styles |
| Making and maintenance |
| Playing the violin |
| Violin construction |
| Violin family of instruments |
| Violinists |
Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) was an Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos.
Although it is known that Goffriller was born in Brixen, little else is known of him prior to his days in Venice before 1685. He is thought to have been active between 1689–1740, and is the founder of the "Venetian School" of luthiers, during the time when Venice was one of the most important centers of musical activity in the world.
In the past, Goffriller's celli had been erroneously attributed to the Guarneri family, Carlo Bergonzi, and even Antonio Stradivari, and was virtually unknown until the 1920s when his instruments began to be discovered. His cello of 1733 once owned by Pablo Casals was originally attributed to Bergonzi. His earliest identified instrument is a viola da gamba dated 1689.
Goffriller was married in 1686 to Maddalena Maria Caiser at the Madonna delle Grazie in Venice, and together had twelve children including five boys and seven girls in the span of 26 years. Francesco Goffriller, long thought to be his brother, may according to recent research, actually be his son. Goffriller died in Venice in 1742.
Contents |
The standard label for a Gofriller instrument, whether genuine or forged, uses the Latin inscription Mattheus Goffriller Fece in Venezia Anno [date]. This inscription displays the maker, the town (Venice), and "made in the year", followed by a date that is either printed or handwritten. In reality he labeled only a small percentage of his instruments compared to the ones he actually constructed. This was in order to evade paying his taxes in Venice.
|
|
|
|
|
Pablo Casals had a Goffriller which was his main concert instrument for most of his professional life. It was acquired by Casals in 1913 and used until his death in 1973. Since 2000, the use of this instrument has been awarded for two years to the winner of the International Pablo Casals Cello Competition in Kronberg, Germany.[1] Terence Weil played a Goffriller that had been played by Casals before.[2]
Other notable musicians:
| Sobriquet | Year | Provenance | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goffriller violin | 1695 | currently played by Andrej Power | ||
| Sammons | 1696 | Kenneth Sillito[3] | ||
| Goffriller violin | 1700 | purchased and played by Alexander Yudkovsky since 2008 | ||
| Goffriller violin | ca. 1700 | Stradivari Society | currently played by Michala Høj[4] | |
| ex-Sivori; ex-Lalo | 1700 | |||
| Goffriller violin | 1700 | played on by Jorja Fleezanis | ||
| Goffriller violin | 1702 | played by Jaakko Kuusisto | ||
| Goffriller violin | 1708 | played by Jennifer Pike | ||
| Goffriller violin | ca. 1720 | Alan Parmenter | purchased in 2008 by an anonymous benefactor | |
| Goffriller violin | 1722 | stolen from violinist Charmian Gadd in 1999, subsequently recovered[5] | ||
| Goffriller Violin | 1723 | played by Amanda Favier since 1996 | ||
| Goffriller Violin | 1730 | the Counts of Colloredo Castle, Friuli |
| Sobriquet | Year | Provenance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goffriller viola | ca. 1720 | ||
| ex-Walter Trampler | 1727 | Richard O'Neill | measures 41 cm |
| Sobriquet | Year | Provenance | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goffriller cello | 1689 | played by Geoffrey Rutkowski | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1690 | previously Sabatier, Axelrod, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra | labeled: Nicolas Amatus, previously played by Maria Kliegel[6] | |
| Goffriller cello | ca. 1700 | Antonio Meneses | ||
| ex-Leonard Rose; ex-Alfredo Piatti | 1693 | on loan to Leonard Elschenbroich | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1693 | Mischa Schneider | features a carved Rosette on the top, under the fingerboard; currently played by Zuill Bailey | |
| Goffriller cello | 1695 | played by Anner Bylsma | ||
| Count Marcello | 1697 | Nicholas Anderson; Count Girolamo Marcello; Aldo Pais of Venice; Irving Klein[7] | ||
| Rosette | 1698 | Leslie Parnas | features a carved rosette decoration | |
| Goffriller cello | 1698 | played by Andres Diaz | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1698 | exhibited at the Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria | ||
| D'Archambeau | ca. 1700 | Iwan D'Archambeau | played by Jonathan Miller of the Gramercy Trio, Boston Artists Ensemble, and Boston Symphony Orchestra | |
| Goffriller cello | 1700 | Ex-Amadeus Quartet | played by Christian-Pierre La Marca | |
| Goffriller cello | 1701 | played by Gautier Capuçon | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1703 | Karl Fruh; Raya Garbousova (1930–1951) | ||
| The Star | 1705 | Janos Starker (1965)[8] | ||
| ex-Warburg | 1706 | played by François Kieffer (Amedeo Modigliani Quartet) | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1707 | Previously Hershel Gorodetzky (now Gordon), The Philadelphia Orchestra & Stringart Quartet. | played by Eric Kim | |
| Goffriller cello | 1708 | Istituto della Pietà, Venice | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1710 | played by Matt Haimovitz | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1710 | played by Anthony Ross, principal cello, Minnesota Orchestra | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1710 | played by Richard Hirschl, cellist, Chicago Symphony Orchestra | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1711 | played by Marc Coppey | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1712 | Venice Research, has this uncut cello. | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1715 | Samsung Foundation of Culture | played by Sara Sant'Ambrogio | |
| Goffriller cello | 1715 | Stradivari Society | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1720 | Emanuel Feuermann | played by Joseph Schuster | |
| Goffriller cello | 1720 | played by Moray Welsh | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1720 | "ex-Lederlin" | played by David Delacroix | |
| Goffriller cello | 1722 | Yo-Yo Ma | played by Valentin Erben | |
| Goffriller cello | 1722 | played by Pierre Fournier | ||
| ex-Cossmann | 1726 | played by Carl Fuchs, Jenska Slebos; once thought to be a Bergonzi.[9] | ||
| Saphir; ex-Harvey Shapiro | 1727 | currently played by Daniel Müller-Schott | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1728 | Samuel Mayes | currently played by Timothy Eddy | |
| Guffy | 1730 | Johann Sebastian Paetsch | played by Gunther Paetsch (1970–1985) | |
| ex-Pablo Casals | 1733 | played by Matt Haimovitz; currently played by Claudio Bohorquez. | ||
| Goffriller cello | 1735 | Hermann Busch | currently played by Matthias Naegele[10] |
| Sobriquet | Year | Provenance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Salute | 1712 | the twin of the Benedetto Marcello; fabricated for the Santa Maria della Salute, Venice | |
| Benedetto Marcello | 1712 | the twin of the La Salute. exhibited in at the Venice Conservatory |