History of the great instruments?

[Guido]

I just wondered whether a book had ever been written on the history of the great instruments of Stradivarius, Montagnana and Guadanini - i.e. who they were owned by and where they were over the past 300 years - might be interesting. For instance I have absolutely no idea who owned Yo-Yo Ma's Montagnana before he did, or Rostropovich's Stradivarius before he bought it in 1974.

[Gurn Blanston]

I just wondered whether a book had ever been written on the history of the great instruments of Stradivarius, Montagnana and Guadanini - i.e. who they were owned by and where they were over the past 300 years - might be interesting. For instance I have absolutely no idea who owned Yo-Yo Ma's Montagnana before he did, or Rostropovich's Stradivarius before he bought it in 1974.

There are undoubtedly several of them, but one that I enjoyed is Stradivarius by Toby Faber. It tells of the descent of Strads in general, and 5 in particular that are considered among the great ones (not all Strads were created equal, as you can imagine). I don't know of any single volume that will deal with all the examples you cited above, though.

[Guido]

I am aware of this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stradivarius-Five-Violins-Cello-Genius/dp/0330492594/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234665317&sr=8-1

But haven't read it. I was thinking of something far more complete - the six they have chosen here just seemed to be an arbitrary selection.

[sul G]

I just wondered whether a book had ever been written on the history of the great instruments of Stradivarius, Montagnana and Guadanini - i.e. who they were owned by and where they were over the past 300 years - might be interesting. For instance I have absolutely no idea who owned Yo-Yo Ma's Montagnana before he did, or Rostropovich's Stradivarius before he bought it in 1974.

I don't know of such a book, but the Wiki page for Stradivarius has a list of instruments, some of which carry links to their own pages. About Ma's cello, the Davidov, the relevant page says:

The Davidov Stradivarius (also: Davidoff or Davydov), is an antique cello fabricated in 1712 by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona. It is very similar in construction and form to the equally famed Duport Stradivarius built a year earlier and played by Mstislav Rostropovich until his death in 2007. The varnish is of a rich orange-red hue, produced with oil color glazes. Its owners have included Jacqueline du Pré, and it is currently used by Yo-Yo Ma.

In 1870, it was given to Karl Davydov (1838-1889) by patron, Count Wielhorsky at the court of Tsar, Alexander II, and it is Davydov's name the cello bears today. Davydov was a Russian cellist of great renown at the time, described as the "czar of cellists" by Tchaikovsky, though far less successful as a composer. The cello body has a few marks and scratches due to mishandling from this period.

After Davydov's death, the cello was sold in Paris in 1889. In 1928 it was purchased by Herbert N. Straus, an American business executive. When he died, his widow asked New York City musical instrument dealer Rembert Wurlitzer to sell the instrument for her. In 1964 the Davydov cello was purchased for US$90,000 by Ismena Holland who in turn presented the instrument to her goddaughter, the English cellist, Jacqueline du Pré. Upon receiving the Davydov, Du Pre's instructor, William Pleeth, declared it as "one of the really great instruments of the world". Practically all of du Pré's recordings from 1964 to 1970 were made on this instrument. By 1970, du Pré complaining of the instrument's "unpredictability", began using a cello fabricated for her by Sergio Peresson purchased by her husband Daniel Barenboim. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma later commented, "Jackie's unbridled dark qualities went against the Davydov. You have to coax the instrument. The more you attack it, the less it returns". The Peresson was her primary instrument for the remainder of her career.

Upon her death in 1987, the Davydov, owned by the Vuitton Foundation, was made available for use by Yo-Yo Ma. He has since performed and recorded with the instrument in Baroque music, specifically, the Simply Baroque and Simply Baroque II recordings. It was modified especially for the task of creating a more authentic sound for that era. The Davydov has subsequently been reconfigured for modern music once again.

the relevant bit being that the cello was Du Pre's before it was Ma's, but that she didn't play it much after 1970; about Rostropovich's  Duport Strad there is a little less:

The Duport Stradivarius is a violoncello made in 1711 by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona. The instrument is named after Jean-Pierre Duport, who played it around 1800. In 1812, Duport permitted Napoleon Bonaparte to handle it; a dent, still visible on the instrument, is said to have resulted from the emperor's rough handling while straddling the cello with his boots.

Auguste-Joseph Franchomme set a price record by purchasing it for FRF22,000 in 1843 from Duport's son. The instrument maker Jean Baptiste Vuillaume used the Duport as the primary model for his cellos.

The Duport is one of the most valuable extant Stradivari cellos. It was owned and played from 1974 to 2007 by Mstislav Rostropovich. There have been no announcements made as to the fate of the instrument since Rostropovich's death.

[sul G]

...and the wiki page carries this link, which I haven't looked at properly but which appears to be an index (by date of construction) of all known Strads, with details and ownership/player history of each available. Plus photos of and quotations about the instrument concerned etc.

[sul G]

The Duport (Rostropovich) page on the above site...

...and the Davidov (Ma) page

[sul G]

It's quite a fascinating site, on closer inspection!