Violin history
A brief overview of violin history

The violin has many ancestors

Hertz Violin Custom Class

The violin developed gradually through time but the violin first emerged in northern Italy in the early 16th century. The violin was evolved from several string instruments, some dating back as far as 5000 B.C. Some of these precursors are the viola da gamba, lire da braccio and the viola da braccio, which is the direct predecessor of the violin.

A violin shaped like a guitar

The early violins were shorter, thicker and less angled than the current violin. At one point they had the shape of today’s guitars. The precursors had only two or three strings. In the 11th century the vielle, a more known and direct precursors of the violin, was made. The vielle was played up on the left shoulder or breast which was unusual for string instruments, as they - at that time - normally were held between the knees. The bow wasn’t used until somewhere between the 11th and 12th centuries when ribs were added, as well as the tailpiece and bridge. Until then string instruments were plucked.

The composers made the violin popular

The violin wasn’t popular until the 1800's, when well-known composers such as Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach used the violin. Then violin-making began all over Europe. The most famous of all violin makers/luthiers are the families Amati and Guarneri, Antonio Stradivari and Jacob Stainer. Most of these came from the same town in Italy, Cremona.

A violin ordered by the Medici family

The first real violin was built by the lute-maker, Andrea Amati, ordered from the Medici family and was made to be used by street-musicians. Andrea Amati was also the founder of the world’s most famous school of violin-making. The oldest surviving violin to be dated is the "Charles IX" by Andrea Amati, made in Cremona in 1564 for the french king, Charles IX. Charles IX of France had made an extensive range of different kinds of string instruments made for him by Andrea Amari.

Composers for the violin

Among the famous composers for the violin in the 18th and 19th century were Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Later, in the 20th century, came Claude Debussy, Arnold Schoenberg, Bela Bartok and Igor Stravinsky.