Toby Faber presents Cremona and the Golden Age of Violin Making
Paddiington Uniting Church
Thu 28 Aug '25
Overview
IN this illustrated talk, renowned author, lecturer writer and executive Chairman of Faber and Faber Music, Toby Faber shares his deep understanding of seventeenth century instrument making. Toby Faber is the author of the narrative history, 'Stradivarius'.
For about 200 years until the mid- 18th century, workshops in the small northern Italian town of Cremona produced violins and other string instruments which remain the most desirable in…
IN this illustrated talk, renowned author, lecturer writer and executive Chairman of Faber and Faber Music, Toby Faber shares his deep understanding of seventeenth century instrument making. Toby Faber is the author of the narrative history, 'Stradivarius'.
For about 200 years until the mid- 18th century, workshops in the small northern Italian town of Cremona produced violins and other string instruments which remain the most desirable in the world. This lecture traces the story of that golden age, beginning with Andrea Amati in the 1560s then through the generations to the death of Antonio Stradivari in 1737. It considers why techniques have been lost and whether they can ever be recovered. And it introduces some of Cremona's celebrated customers: not just famous violinists, but also Galileo Galilei and royal patrons like Catherine de Medici, Queen of France.