David Kerr Violin Shop, Inc
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Picture
Gaetano Gadda Mantua, 1928   


Gaetano Gadda apprenticed with the renowned maker, Stefano Scarampella. Before his 20th birthday, Gadda was making instruments side by side with Scarampella. Four years later, Scarampella, whose health was ailing, retired and gave Gadda his tools, models, and trade secrets. In return, Gadda agreed to supply the master with one violin per month for the rest of the elder maker's life. Scarampella, however, died the next year.

For the next several years, Gadda followed his master's style and models, and rarely strayed from what he had been taught. By the mid 1940s, Gadda began searching for his own style and using new models, ranging from a Guarneri-inspired pattern to old instruments owned by local musicians. 

This violin is a fine example of Gadda's Scarampella-inspired years.  The woodworking is expressive and stylish, the arching full and broad, and the varnish is a transparent brownish red that seems to float over an amber ground.



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