Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737) . )S^ the variation between the lowerand the higher figures depending upon the individual meritsof a given instrument. For such exceptional specimens asthose forming the inlaid quintet an exceptional price waspaid. Any question as to the master having been butpoorly remunerated can, we think, be dismissed withoutfurther discussion. No better proof to the contrary can beforthcoming than that given us by Arisi, who writes underdate 1702 : Stradivari made a complete set of bow instru-ments which he intended to present to Philip V. of Spainon the o
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737) . )S^ the variation between the lowerand the higher figures depending upon the individual meritsof a given instrument. For such exceptional specimens asthose forming the inlaid quintet an exceptional price waspaid. Any question as to the master having been butpoorly remunerated can, we think, be dismissed withoutfurther discussion. No better proof to the contrary can beforthcoming than that given us by Arisi, who writes underdate 1702 : Stradivari made a complete set of bow instru-ments which he intended to present to Philip V. of Spainon the occasion of the Kings passage through Cremona,and he had prepared a memorial to that effect, but he wasdissuaded and the instruments are still in his making of such a set of instruments represented thework of several months, and a poorly-paid worker would. The Betts Stradivari, dated STRADIVARIS CHARGES 267 lardly contemplate such a costly present. The fame of5tradivaris instruments spread surely, if at first slowly.^ow interesting it would have been had the early writers,;uch as Burney, left on record who were the makers of the/iolins and violoncellos then in the hands of the foremosttalian players ! The little we are able to glean from/arious sources points to Amatis and Stainers being?eputed above all others, and it is consequently probable:hat these were the instruments upon which the majority3f the renowned violinists of the early and middle part ofthe eighteenth century played. Burney mentions thatVeracini (born about 1685, died 1750) used two famousStainers which he christened St. Peter and St. Paul,^nd that they were lost when he was shipwrecked. Thesame writer, referring to his visit to Signor Mazzanti, adistinguished musician in Rome, says : He plays prettywell on the violin, and is in possession of the most beautif
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