It was Johnson String Instrument's great honor and pleasure to host the Consortium of Violinmakers Antonio Stradivari instrument exhibit in February. Over 40 contemporary Cremonese stringed instruments were on display at our Newton shop and at several venues in Boston, including the New England Conservatory, where they were also showcased in a "taste test" concert and panel discussion with the Walden Chamber Players. The brilliant quartet of musicians, Tatiana Dimitriades and Irina Muresanu, violins, Christof Huebner, viola, and Ashima Scripp, cello, were joined by violin experts David Bonsey, director of Fine Musical Instruments of Skinner auctions; Cremona native violinmaker Marco Coppiardi; and JSI's own bowmaker, Jon Crumrine, for a fascinating discussion of violinmaking. To hear a recording of the event, please visit our website at johnsonstring.com. At an event held especially for young musicians of Boston's youth orchestras at the Goethe-Institut in Boston, Chameleon Ensemble members performed on instruments from the exhibit in a stunning concert. Student members of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and New England Conservatory's Youth Symphony tried out the instruments and enjoyed a wonderful dinner during this magical evening made possible by BYSO board member Wael Almazeedi. The following day in a more intimate setting, musicians of the Boston Chamber Music Network's Appassionato Quartet performed beautifully on instruments from the exhibition at their February meet-up event at the Johnson's Gray Cliff house in Newton. New York string players also had the chance to view and play the instruments when the JSI sales team brought the exhibit to the Renaissance Westchester hotel in White Plains, New York for the final event. Many instruments were sold to musicians appreciative of the particularly refined craftsmanship and tone quality of the exhibited instruments. For a limited time, more instruments may be available for trial before they are returned to Cremona. Please contact us if you would like an instrument on trial.

About the Consortium The Consorzio Liutai Antonio Stradivari was founded in 1996 to promote the art of contemporary Cremonese violinmaking. Over 70 makers are members of the Consortium, based in Cremona, Italy, home of the great makers Stradivari, Amati, and Guarneri. The "Cremona Liuteria" trademark guarantees that the certified instrument is handmade by a Cremonese master instrument maker. The Consortium maintains a database of the instruments sold with the "Cremona Liuteria" trademark to confirm the authenticity of the instruments and to help protect Cremonese instruments from forgery. This helps bring transparency to the market and greater security to buyers. Visiting Cremona is a must for the violin lover! At the Stradivari Museum and the Hall of Violins in the Town Hall, visitors can view the instruments of the great old masters. Just a few steps from the Duomo and the Torrazzo, centered in the Piazza del Comune, the Consorzio Liutai showrooms are open year round for customers to view and play contemporary Cremonese instruments with the "Cremona Liuteria" trademark.

I. Excerpt from Mozart's "Dissonance" String Quartet - Group 1
Makers in Group I:
Violin I: Francesco Toto Violin II: Fabrizio Portanti Viola: Stefano Conia Cello: Fabrizio Portanti

II. Excerpt from Mozart's "Dissonance" String Quartet - Group 2
Makers in Group 2:
Violin I: Ada Quaranta Violin II: Pietro Rhee Viola: Marco Osio Cello: Daniele Scolari

III. Excerpt from Schubert's string quartet "Death and the Maiden" - Group 3
Makers in Group 3:
Violin I: Vladimiro Cubanzi Violin II: Michele Dobner Viola: Stefano Conia Cello: Fabrizio Portanti

IV. Excerpt from Schubert's string quartet "Death and the Maiden" - Group 4
Makers in Group 4:
Violin I: Ada Quaranta Violin II: Hildegard Dodel Viola: Marco Osio Cello: Andrea Schudtz

V. Excerpt from Karen Tanaka's string quartet "at the grave of Beethoven" - Group 5
Makers in Group 5:
Violin I: Hildegard Dodel Violin II: Alessandro DiMatteo Viola: Barbara Piccinotti Cello: Daniel Scolari

VI. Excerpt from Karen Tanaka's string quartet "at the grave of Beethoven" - Group 6
Makers in Group 6:
Violin I: Alessandro Gambarin Violin II: Francesco Toto Viola: Stefano Conia Cello: Vladimiro Cubanzi

VII. Group 7
Makers in Group 7:
Violin I: Stefano Trabucchi Violin II: Francesco Toto Viola: Barbara Piccinotti Cello: Ricardo Grisales

VIII. Group 8 The Walden Players' choices of instruments
Makers in Group 8:
Violin I: Alessandro DiMatteo Violin II: Francesco Toto Viola: Stefano Conia Cello: Ricardo Grisales

IX. Q&A Discussion of violin making with guest panelists Marco Coppiardi, David Bonsey, and Jon Crumrine.

Instruments from the Consortium played available at JSI:

Ada Quaranta violin

Franceso Toto violin