Publications

Biddulph recordings has published a number of prestigious publications of interest to the violin enthusiast. To order any of these titles, please go to our books order form

The Violin Forms of Antonio Stradivari , ISBN 0 9520109 0 9 £135

Stewart Pollens

An essential volume for violin makers, scholars and collectors, this book is a study of the geometry of the Cremonese master's templates and forms. The book is based upon first-hand examination and measurement of these objects. The publication contains life-size photographs of all known forms for violin, viola, cello, viola da gamba and guitar, together with corner and top block patterns, soundhole templates and neck patterns. Included are a series of overlays which illustrate how the shape of one violin form evolved from another.

Hardcover, 34 pages with 40 plates and 16 figures, clothbound

Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu

0 9520109 3 3

standard edition, clothbound £400

0 9520109 1 7

deluxe edition, leatherbound £800

Text by Carlo Chiesa, John Dilworth, Roger Hargrave, Peter Klein, Stewart Pollens, Duane Rosengard and Eric Wen. Photos by Stewart Pollens.

This impressive and beautiful book is a ground-breaking study of the maker's life and work. Published in a limited edition two-volume set, it contains life-size colour photographs, measurements and templates of 25 violins by this extraordinary maker. Also included is an in-depth study of Guarneri del Gesu's working methods and a detailed biographical history. The book represents a major contribution to the violin literature. The project was natural outgrowth of the 1994 exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Hardcover, 340 pages in 2 volumes 125 pages of life-size colour photographs.

The Stradivari Legacy 0 9520109 2 5

£100 (standard edition, cloth-bound)
£200 (deluxe edition, leather-bound

by Carlo Chiesa and Duane Rosengard
Forewords by Charles Beare and Andrea Mosconi
Photographs by Carlo Chiesa, Stewart Pollens and Richard Valencia

While doing research in the archives of Cremona, Carlo Chiesa and Duane Rosengard made an unexpected and extraordinary discovery: they found the last will and testament of Antonio Stradivari. Previously unknown to modern historians, this document is in the autograph hand of Stradivari himself. A further three versions dictated to his notaries were also discovered, and together these four documents chronicle the evolution of Stradivari's thoughts concerning his considerable estate. They provide a rare and fascinating insight into the complex relationship of Stradivari with both his family and his workshop. The Stradivari Legacy contains the text (in both the original Italian and an English translation) of all four versions of Stradivari's last will and testament, as well as extensive commentary and background information about the Stradivari family. The publication also includes full colour photographs of 6 Stradivari instruments and forewords by Charles Beare and Andrea Mosconi.

Hardcover, 148 pages

The Violin Masterpieces of Guarneri del Gesu
Text by Stewart Pollens, Duane Rosengard, Carlo Chiesa and John Dilworth Photographs, Stewart Pollens Foreword, Peter Biddulph
Edited by Eric Wen

Peter Biddulph's influential exhibition "The Violin Masterpieces of Guarneri del Gesù" at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art was hailed as a major contribution to violin scholarship. A catalogue of this exhibition includes colour photographs of 25 Guarneri violins as well as history and provenance of each instrument. The exhibition led to the publication in 1998 of Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, a ground-breaking study of Guarneri's life and work.

Softcover catalogue, 72 pages,
25 pages of colour photographs

Guarneri

The Violin Makers of the Guarneri Family (1626-1762)

By William Hill, Arthur Hill and Alfred Ebsworth Hill

This book is the definitive reference and tribute to the great Guarneri family.

Harback, 59 plates, 181 pages