Cellos.
"We have now shown clearly that the progress from the violoncello of large proportions and light build existing in Stradivari’s youth to the modern form was a gradual one, the instrument being perfected step by step during a period of fifty years. All the pupils of the Amatis contributed more or less to that progress, but to Stradivari must be awarded the credit of having created the most perfect form of violoncello in existence; in fact, it was he and he alone who raised it to that state beyond which no further progress has been made. We cannot, or course, foretell what may happen in the future, but we may emphatically say that no light task awaits the man who seeks to make a real improvement on the violoncello as left to us by Stradivari."
-The Hills “Antonio Stradivari,” p 145. |
Who could not agree, especially after listening to great performances by Greenhouse, Rostropovich, Jacqueline Du Pre, Drachman, Isserlis and Yo Yo Ma play on forma B Stradivari cellos. I have made 100 cellos based on the forma B. I also made thirty ½ and ¾ size cellos donated to students of Irene Sharp. This may have been the highlight of my violinmaking career since nearly all of my forma B cellos have been sold.
Stradivari made about 50 cellos, but only about 20 were of the Forma B model. From the Hills, p 115: We estimate that between 1680 and 1700 Stradivari made at least thirty violoncellos: twenty five are known to us; and how instructive to note that all- without exception- were made of the large size! From the Hills, p 124: The years between 1701 and 1707 as far as violoncellos are concerned, not a single specimen being known to us. Those from 1707 to 1730 include cellos played by Jacqueline Du Pre and others above.
Recently I received one of my ¾ size cellos back with the information that the young woman had progressed very well with the cello until she was given a 4/4 cello to play. She found it too difficult to play and as a result quit playing the cello. How terrible! I wondered how many other young cellists quit playing cello because of the same. I played on the ¾ size cello and thought it played and sounded as good, from my own evaluations as several of my forma B cellos.
Smaller cellos were made by Stradivari’s sons such as the Stuart cello, slightly more than 29 inches body length made in 1732, (played by Steven Honigberg).
Other smaller cellos by Stradivari’s sons include the DeMunck, Pleeth, and Josefowitz cellos. The smallest was the Josefowitz 1732 cello, whose size is very much like my ¾ size cello, however I could not find on the internet a youtube recording.
Excellent smaller cellos by other makers include the petite Guadagnini, body length slightly longer than 28 inches, played by Natali Klein. The dimensions of this cello follows, compared to my ¾ size cello and the Stuart cello.
Stradivari made about 50 cellos, but only about 20 were of the Forma B model. From the Hills, p 115: We estimate that between 1680 and 1700 Stradivari made at least thirty violoncellos: twenty five are known to us; and how instructive to note that all- without exception- were made of the large size! From the Hills, p 124: The years between 1701 and 1707 as far as violoncellos are concerned, not a single specimen being known to us. Those from 1707 to 1730 include cellos played by Jacqueline Du Pre and others above.
Recently I received one of my ¾ size cellos back with the information that the young woman had progressed very well with the cello until she was given a 4/4 cello to play. She found it too difficult to play and as a result quit playing the cello. How terrible! I wondered how many other young cellists quit playing cello because of the same. I played on the ¾ size cello and thought it played and sounded as good, from my own evaluations as several of my forma B cellos.
Smaller cellos were made by Stradivari’s sons such as the Stuart cello, slightly more than 29 inches body length made in 1732, (played by Steven Honigberg).
Other smaller cellos by Stradivari’s sons include the DeMunck, Pleeth, and Josefowitz cellos. The smallest was the Josefowitz 1732 cello, whose size is very much like my ¾ size cello, however I could not find on the internet a youtube recording.
Excellent smaller cellos by other makers include the petite Guadagnini, body length slightly longer than 28 inches, played by Natali Klein. The dimensions of this cello follows, compared to my ¾ size cello and the Stuart cello.
There may be other smaller cellos which, with double blind comparisons, have playability and tone equal to Stradivari Forma B cellos. A BBC study comparing classical Cremonese cellos to modern cellos - Blind Listening Tests – Classical Instruments vs. Moderns – Fourth American Cello Congress in 1990 showed interesting results. Much more needs to be done. I would especially love to hear a cello soloist perform on one of my ¾ size cellos.
Praise.
From my own review of letters I received from those who purchased my cellos I found, to my great satisfaction, that almost all were very favorable.
"The cello continues to mature in depth and is quite a lovely instrument. It gives us a lot of pleasure."
"Thank you so much for building such beautiful cellos." "My son loves the tone of this cello and I feel lucky to be able to get it for him." "The cello has a beautiful sound and looks great." "Your cello is beautiful and now we have two of your creations. My kids and I are looking forward to many duets." "Thank you for the wonderful cello. The cello was perfect. I loved the cello!! It has a wonderful sound. Thanks again for the cello!!" "I am very pleased with the instrument and appreciate the work you put into it." "I look forward to playing your cello. Best wishes to you for your continued instrument making." "Thank you for making a beautiful cello. We are enjoying it very much." "I play a Harman cello and am thoroughly satisfied with the results I get from it. It is well-balanced and easy to play, has a rich, powerful tone, and projects beautifully." "Thank you for the cello. I love it a lot and it sounds great." "I want to thank you again for the cello. It is extremely responsive, has a beautiful tone, and is a lovely instrument just to look at, let alone play. You can rest assured that it will be with me the rest of my life and that It will be played daily." "My son and his teacher really love the cello." "Again, our thanks for your beautiful cello. She has enjoyed playing it so much and it seems to fit her in spirit and her person." "It is a beautiful cello are we are very happy with it." |
In an effort to find out what had happened to my cellos, I searched on the internet the names of those who purchased my cellos and found out to my great satisfaction that almost half played in orchestras and taught cello.
I was very pleased to hear Abraham Aragundi play on my forma B Cello 2004 HT, # 125, the Swan by Camille Saint Saens with Craig Lynch piano, which I have included in the web site.
In August this year I received a phone call from Linda Kageff and Adrian Boiangiu asking if I had a cello available for their grandson. They told me that my cello 1997 FO #86, which Linda purchased from Sacramento dealer Cheryl Macomber sounded as good or better than old Italian cellos of repute. My daughter Audrey Harman brought cello 2004 AR #130, the last cello I had made, to their studio in Tracy. David Gibbard played on the cello and my daughter recorded the first time he put his bow to the cello. Listen to his solo interpretations of the Elgar Concerto (link coming soon).
I can only hope as long as I am on this earth that David or any one of the owners of about 90 of my forma B Stradivari cellos out there will be recorded in such works as the Bach Suites, sonatas with piano by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, other chamber works- or even with a good full orchestra, the marvelous cello concertos by Vivaldi (Wallfisch), Haydn, Schumann, Dvorak or Elgar and numerous others. We can always hope.
Not all famous cellists play on forma B cellos. But what would the world be like without cellos, and with them? Read Joys and Sorrows of Pablo Casals his own story as told by Albert E, Kuhn.
Set Up and Adjustment of Cellos
Great care and expertise should be used for the set up and adjustment of cellos. I follow the rule of the centerline, as discussed for violas. I place the bass bar so that with exact and careful placement of the soundpost each are equidistant from the inner edges of the ff holes. With cello the post is approximately 8 mm behind the bridge foot with an overlap of about 3 mm of the outer bridge feet over the bass bar and soundpost. The soundpost should be perpendicular and slid in without too much tension. There should be no gaps around the top and bottom of the post.
I use a good quality 90 mm bridge blank. I follow the method in Robert Cauer’s manual for fabrication of the bridge, with exact centering of the bridge and careful fitting of the bridge feet on top of the soundboard. The bridge should be perpendicular with no gaps front or back of the bridge feet. I use Larsen solo strings for the upper strings and Thomastic Spiracore, silver, for the lower strings.
I use a good quality 90 mm bridge blank. I follow the method in Robert Cauer’s manual for fabrication of the bridge, with exact centering of the bridge and careful fitting of the bridge feet on top of the soundboard. The bridge should be perpendicular with no gaps front or back of the bridge feet. I use Larsen solo strings for the upper strings and Thomastic Spiracore, silver, for the lower strings.