Violin by Giovanni Schwartz, Venice, 1904
This violin has now sold.
About Giovanni Schwartz
Giovanni Schwartz was born in Padua in 1865 and was apprenticed to his uncle Eugenio Degani for 11 years, firstly in the city of Montagnana. During his apprenticeship, Degani and the young Schwartz moved to Venice, setting up shop in 1888. Schwartz set up his own workshop in the city in the following year and won a gold medal in Rome in 1916.
Whilst having a distinct style of his own, the connection with Degani can be very much seen in Schwartz´ instruments: in this violin the link is most evident in the deeply fluted scroll. The two are now considered to be the most important Venetian makers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
About the violin
The violin was made in 1904 and bears its original label. The two piece back is of medium-flamed, book-matched maple. The two piece front is of fine-grained spruce, widening considerably towards the flanks. The varnish is of a rich amber colour. The violin has a length of back of 359mm
How does it sound?
Tonally, we think of the Modern Italian school as valuing projection above all: whilst this violin projects well with ease, it also has a great deal of colour, subtlety and nuance. The sound is warm and even across the whole range and will feel very familiar to fans of the Degani family. Violins by Schwartz have yet to reach the same price as instruments by the Deganis: at half the price of one of their instruments this violin would make an excellent bet!
Condition
The violin is in mint condition and comes with the certificate of Bruce Carlson. It is original in all its parts and bears the maker´s initials on either side of the button, as can be seen below.