 Modern luthier's workshop,Cremona (2007) | |
| Occupation | |
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Occupation type | Instrument maker, instrument repairer |
Aluthier (/ˈluːtiər/LOO-tee-ər;US also/ˈluːθiər/LOO-thee-ər)[1][2][3] is acraftsperson who builds or repairsstring instruments.
The wordluthier is originallyFrench and comes fromluth, the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be used in French for makers of mostbowed andplucked stringed instruments such as members of theviolin family (includingviolas,cellos, anddouble basses) andguitars. Luthiers, however, do not makeharps or pianos; these require different skills and construction methods because their strings are secured to a frame.
Thecraft of luthiers, lutherie (rarely called "luthiery", but this often refers to stringed instruments other than those in the violin family), is commonly divided into the two main categories of makers of stringed instruments that are plucked or strummed andmakers of stringed instruments that are bowed.[4] Since bowed instruments require a bow, the second category includes a subtype known as abow maker or archetier. Luthiers may also teach string-instrument making, either throughapprenticeship or formal classroom instruction.
Early producers oflutes,archlutes,theorbos andvihuelas include theTieffenbrucker family,Martin Hoffmann andMatteo Sellas.
Two luthiers of the early 19th century connected with the development of the modern classical guitar areLouis Panormo andGeorg Staufer.[5]Antonio Torres Jurado is credited with developing the form ofclassical guitar still in use.C.F. Martin of Germany developed a form that evolved into the modern steel-string acoustic guitar.
The American luthierOrville Gibson specialized inmandolins, and is credited with creating thearchtop guitar.[6] The 20th-century American luthiersJohn D'Angelico andJimmy D'Aquisto made archtop guitars.Lloyd Loar worked briefly for theGibson Guitar Corporation making mandolins and guitars. His designs for a family of arch top instruments (mandolin,mandola, guitar, et cetera) are held in high esteem by today's luthiers, who seek to reproduce their sound.[citation needed] C. F. Martin apprenticed to Johann Georg Stauffer, a guitar maker in Vienna, Austria andMartin & Co. was born, with the X bracing being developed in the 1850s. Martin & Co still produce acoustic guitars.Paul Bigsby's innovation of thetremolo arm for archtop andelectric guitars is still in use and may have influencedLeo Fender's design for theStratocastersolid-body electric guitar, as well as theJaguar andJazzmaster.[citation needed] Concurrent with Fender's work, guitaristLes Paul independently developed a solid-body electric guitar. These were the first fretted, solid-body electric guitars—though they were preceded by the castaluminum "frying pan", a solid-body electriclap steel guitar developed and eventually patented byGeorge Beauchamp, and built byAdolph Rickenbacher.[7]A company founded by luthier FriedrichGretsch and continued by his son and grandson, Fred and Fred, Jr., originally made banjos, but now mainly produce electric guitars.[citation needed]
Bowed instruments include:cello,crwth,double bass,erhu,fiddle,hudok,morin khuur,nyckelharpa,hurdy-gurdy,rabab,rebec,sarangi,viol (viola da gamba),viola,viola da braccio,viola d'amore, andviolin.
The purported inventor of the violin isAndrea Amati. Amati was originally a lute maker, but turned to the new instrument form of violin in the mid-16th century. He was the progenitor of the Amati family of luthiers active in Cremona, Italy until the 18th century. Andrea Amati had two sons. His eldest wasAntonio Amati (circa 1537–1607), and the younger,Girolamo Amati (circa 1561–1630). Girolamo is better known as Hieronymus, and together with his brother, produced many violins with labels inside the instrument reading "A&H". Antonio died having no known offspring, but Hieronymus became a father. His son Nicolò (1596–1684) was himself a master luthier who had several apprentices of note, includingAntonio Stradivari[8] (probably), AndreaGuarneri, Bartolomeo Pasta, Jacob Railich, Giovanni Battista Rogeri, MatthiasKlotz, and possiblyJacob Stainer andFrancesco Rugeri. It is even possibleBartolomeo Cristofori, later inventor of the piano, apprenticed under him (although census data does not support this, which paints this as a possible myth).[9]
Gasparo Duiffopruggar ofFüssen, Germany, was once incorrectly credited as the inventor of the violin. He was likely a maker, but no documentation survives, and no instruments survive that experts unequivocally know are his.[citation needed]
Gasparo da Salò ofBrescia (Italy) was another early luthier of the violin family. About 80 of his instruments survive, and around 100 documents that relate to his work. He was also a double bass player and son and nephew of two violin players: Francesco and Agosti, respectively.[citation needed]
Da Salò made many instruments and exported to France and Spain, and probably to England. He had at least five apprentices: his son Francesco, a helper named Battista, Alexander of Marsiglia, Giacomo Lafranchini andGiovanni Paolo Maggini. Maggini inherited da Salò's business in Brescia.Valentino Siani worked with Maggini. In 1620, Maggini moved to Florence.[citation needed]
Luthiers born in the mid-17th century includeGiovanni Grancino,Vincenzo Rugeri,Carlo Giuseppe Testore, and his sonsCarlo Antonio Testore andPaolo Antonio Testore, all fromMilan. FromVenice[10] the luthiersMatteo Goffriller,Domenico Montagnana,Sanctus Seraphin, andCarlo Annibale Tononi were principals in the Venetian school of violin making (although the latter began his career inBologna).[11]Carlo Bergonzi (luthier) purchased Antonio Stradivari's shop a few years after the master's death.David Tecchler, who was born in Austria, later worked in both Venice andRome.
Luthiers from the early 18th century includeNicolò Gagliano ofNaples, Italy,Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi of Milan, andGiovanni Battista Guadagnini, who roamed throughout Italy during his lifetime. From Austria originally,Leopold Widhalm later established himself inNürnberg, Germany.[citation needed]
The Jérôme-Thibouville-Lamy firm started making wind instruments around 1730 atLa Couture-Boussey, then moved to Mirecourt around 1760 and started making violins, guitars, mandolins, and musical accessories.[citation needed]
The early 19th-century luthiers of theMirecourt school of violin making in France were theVuillaume family,Charles Jean Baptiste Collin-Mezin, and Collin-Mezin's son,Charles Collin-Mezin, Jr., Honore Derazey, Nicolas Lupot, Charles Macoutel,Charles Mennégand, and Pierre Silvestre.Nicola Utili (also known as Nicola da Castel Bolognese) (Ravenna, Italy, 1888–1962), beside traditional lute works, experimented the making of "pear-shaped" violins.[citation needed]
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The dictionary definition ofluthier at Wiktionary{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| Playing | |
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