Giovanni Grancino
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the most prominent member of the family of luthiers . Other members included Andrea Grancino, Francesco Grancino, Gianbattista GrancinoGianbattista GrancinoGianbattista Grancino or Giovanni Battista Grancino was a member of the family of luthiers Grancino...
(or Giovanni Battista Grancino) and Paolo GrancinoPaolo GrancinoPaolo Grancino is a 17th century violin maker of obscure origin and unverifiable existence. He is thought to have been a student of Andrea Guarneri. Instruments who appear to be made by him are of a recognizable "Grancino" style which also appears in the work of later Grancinos, yet they are of an...
. Their instruments were played by Yehudi MenuhinYehudi MenuhinYehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
(violin), Siegfried PalmSiegfried PalmSiegfried Palm was a German cellist who is known worldwide for his interpretations of contemporary music. Many 20th-century composers like Kagel, Ligeti, Xenakis, Penderecki and Zimmermann wrote music for him....
(cello) and Adrian BeersAdrian BeersAdrian Simon Beers MBE was a British double bass player and teacher at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music...
(double bass), among others.
Giovanni Grancino (1637–1709), son of Andrea Grancino, was one of the early Milanese luthiers, and may have worked with his brother, Francesco.
Grancino's workshops were all located on Contrada Larga, now Via Larga in Milan. His instruments bear the characteristic segno della corona (mark of the crown).
Although the luthiers of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
created instruments of varying quality, Grancino's violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
s and double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
es are considered superior. Grancino used a varnish
Varnish
Varnish is a transparent, hard, protective finish or film primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. Varnish is traditionally a combination of a drying oil, a resin, and a thinner or solvent. Varnish finishes are usually glossy but may be designed to produce satin or semi-gloss...
which was a finely textured clear yellow to pale brown color.
Grancino's early instrument patterns and designs were influenced by Niccolò Amati of Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, whose impressive works influenced many Italian luthiers of the period. However, Grancino's later productions show flatter arching and narrower form under the influence of Stradivari. Grancino's cellos tend to be larger than others, yet with a clear sound characteristic of the Italian luthiers.
The Grancino manufactory was continued by members of the Testore family
Testore
Testore is an Italian surname, and may refer to:*Carlo Antonio Testore , Milanese luthier and son of Carlo Giuseppe*Paolo Antonio Testore , Milanese luthier and son of Carlo Giuseppe...
. The eldest of them, Carlo Giuseppe Testore
Carlo Giuseppe Testore
Carlo Giuseppe Testore was an Italian luthier, who worked in his later life in Milan. He was born at Novara.Testore, a student of Giovanni Grancino's, went to Milan in 1687 and had his workshop at the sign of the eagle in the Contrada larga...
, built a violin for Grancino which is now housed in the National Music Museum
National Music Museum
The National Music Museum: America's Shrine to Music & Center for Study of the History of Musical Instruments is a musical instrument museum in Vermillion, South Dakota, USA. It was founded in 1973 on the campus of the University of South Dakota...
on the campus of the University of South Dakota
University of South Dakota
The University of South Dakota ', the state’s oldest university, was founded in 1862 and classes began in 1882. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, USD is home to South Dakota's only medical school and law school. USD is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, and its current...
.
Among Grancino's students was the Milanese luthier Giovanni Vasallo.
Grancino's violins play an interesting role in fiction. Canadian author, Emily-Jane Hills Orford's (born Toronto, 1957) novel, "Spring" (PublishAmerica 2005), features a Grancino violin with a mystery to unravel. American Harold Decker's self-published novel, "I, Giulia: The View Through F-Holes," recounts the life of his treasured Grancino violin. Canadian children's performer, Peggy Hills, (born Toronto 1950) also featured a Grancino violin in her children's recording, "Peggy's Violin", which was nominated for a Juno in 2007.