A Conversation About Pirastro Strings
Did you know that the storied virtuoso Niccolò Paganini was actually the first violinist to endorse Pirastro strings, back in the early 19th century?
This was just one thing that I learned about the 225-year-old Pirastro strings company and their strings, - in a conversation that I had in January with Pirastro's German-based Managing Director Annette Müller-Zierach and Pirastro USA's Ed Mingo. Both stopped by when they were in Los Angeles for the 2024 NAMM Show.
We talked about fun things like the identity of the woman on the Evah Pirazzi strings package (a painting that Annette's father made of her mother..) and we also talked very specifically about the history, development and characteristics of various Pirastro violin and viola strings, particularly Evah Pirazzi and Evah Pirazzi Gold, Obligato, Oliv gut strings, Perpetual Cadenzas, Eudoxa and Tonicas.
Below is our conversation, and underneath I've summed it up in words. Please enjoy learning more about Pirastro strings! (And for full disclosure, Pirastro is a supporter of Violinist.com).
Pirastro was started in 1798 by Giorgio Pirazzi, and thus the year 2023 marked Pirastro's 225th anniversary. Currently, Annette's mother owns Pirastro, and her name is....Eva Pirazzi! Annette's father, Volker, painted the picture of her mother that appears on Evah Pirazzi strings, and the name "Evah Pirazzi" incorporates the names of everyone in the family: "Pirazzi" is her mother's maiden name. "E-V-A-H" stands for each member of the family: E for her mother Eva, V for her father Volker, A for Annette and H for her brother Henning.
Recent History: 'Obligato' and 'Evah Pirazzi' Strings
When it comes to string-making, the turn of the 21st century marked a time of major innovation. During the late 1990s, a new material was introduced to the market - an advanced synthetic, made to resist heat and friction. The first string that Pirastro made with this new material was the Obligato violin strings, which were introduced in 1998. The idea of Obligato was to sound as close to Pirastro's Oliv gut strings as possible. Obligato strings have lower tension, with a warm sound - but made from synthetic material rather than gut.
After Obligato was introduced, demand emerged from some players for a louder string. In response, Pirastro researchers created Evah Pirazzi, a soloistic string that was meant to project.
When Evah Pirazzi strings were introduced in 2000, they changed the entire market, said Ed. "Evahs were selling violins," Ed said. "Dealers reported that they would put Evahs on violins, and the violins would sell." In other words, word spread that these strings could "wake up" certain instruments, and they became very popular.
The Development of Pirastro's 'Evah Pirazzi Gold' and 'Perpetual' Strings
At this point, Obligatos and Evah Pirazzi strings represented two extremes: Obligatos were a gut-like string with a lot of color and nuance, and the original Evah Pirazzi (in the green package) were powerful with a lot of projection.
Evah Pirazzi Gold strings were then created to bridge the gap. Evah Pirazzi Gold strings were meant to be like the original Evahs, with more color and nuance. "People thought that Evah Pirazzi Gold was supposed to be 'Evah more powerful,'" Ed said, "but it was actually made to be 'Evah with more color and nuance.'" So Evah Pirazzi Gold has most of power of Evah green, with a lot of the color and nuance of Obligato..
In about 2017, Perpetual strings were introduced - designed to be around the same volume as Evah Pirazzis, but with less tension, Ed said. Perpetuals aimed for more clarity and easier bow response, and soloists like Vadim Repin embraced the strings for the volume and quicker bow response.
Effect of the Pandemic
During the pandemic, violinists went from playing in symphony halls to playing and recording in their apartments. As a result, violinists became more interested in the "under-ear" sound of their strings. The response: Perpetual Cadenza strings, which have "a little Obligato DNA," Ed said.
For some background, Obligatos strings used to come in three gauges: "stark" (strong), "mittel" (medium) or "weich" (light). The gauges were discontinued, but demand remained for "weich." The weich was a thinner gauge, with lighter tension.
Perpetual Cadenza is a lower-tension version of the original 'Medium' Perpetuals, with a tension that is close to that of a gut string. They are easy to play because of the "Perpetual" quick bow response. So Perpetual Cadenzas have the core tone of Obligato "weich" but with Perpetual windings. The result is an even bow sound over all four strings.
Currently the German violinist Isabelle Faust uses Perpetual Cadenzas. She uses Pirastro's Passione gut strings on her historical instruments, and she uses Perpetual Cadenzas on her modern violin because they feel like gut strings.
Other Celebrity Endorsers for Pirastro
A number of well-known violinists use Pirastro strings and publicly endorse them.
Violinist Augustin Hadelich uses Evah Pirastro (green label) strings on his 1744 "Leduc/Szerying" Guarneri "del Gesù."
Vadim Repin has played a variety of Pirastro strings...first Evah Pirazzi, then he switched to Perpetual, and now he uses Evah Pirazzi Gold.
Leila Josefowicz endorses Evah Pirazzi Gold strings.
Violinist Sascha Maisky (son of cellist Mischa Maisky) uses Perpetual Cadenzas. Sascha Maisky, who plays an Amati, was involved in the development of the Cadenzas. Maisky wanted something low tension - like the tension of a gut string - that still gave him projection.
Pirastro's very first endorsing artist was...we said it before...Niccolò Paganini! Paganini played plain gut strings. Why was he a fan of Pirastro's strings in particular? Pirastro was the first company to specify the string gauges. Prior to that, violinists just had to sort through strings and figure it all out for themselves.
Pirastro was also the first company to use just one kind of gut: sheep. By the way, the guts of cats have never been used for violin strings - this is a misunderstanding arising from the word catgut, which means "a tough cord made usually from sheep intestines." For its gut strings, Pirastro uses sheep, some companies use beef.
What is next for Pirastro
While we focused on strings in our conversation, it is worth mentioning that Pirastro is the maker of the popular (but yes, expensive!) KorfkerRest, a shoulder rest for violin and viola developed by the Dutch violinist Berent Korfker that is particularly light, grippy and allows for the resonance of the instrument. (Find our review here.) Just last year Pirastro released a new version of the rest called the KorfkerRest Luna, which is made of a proprietary composite material created by Pirastro, costs considerably less and has collapsible feet. (Find our review here.) They are now in the process of developing the KorfkerRest Luna for viola.
You might also like:
- Who is Evah Pirazzi? Mystery solved!
- Review: The New KorfkerRest Luna Shoulder Rest by Pirastro
- Review: Perpetual Cadenza Violin Strings by Pirastro
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Ed Mingo, the US rep also has an amazing amount of technical knowledge about strings. I've learned a heck-of-a-lot from him. Well worth talking to if one is interested in that end of things, and gets the chance at a trade show or convention.
I used Pirastro strings as a kid decades ago, so after purchasing a violin a few years ago, I turned to Pirastro for strings. I began with Olive metal wound on gut, and branched out to many other Pirastro strings.
But, I've come to find that I have much better luck with Thematic-Infeld strings. In particular, I'm currently have Infeld reds on my violin and really love them. The E string is an Infeld Pi, gold-plated E string.
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February 15, 2024 at 06:30 AM · Excellent article as usual, Laurie! I know the family well and have toured the factory in Offenbach, so I knew the esoteric symbolism contained in their packaging. Like me, Volker Mueller-Zirach likes to hide meanings in plain sight! The handwriting you see on the envelopes and advertising is his.
One thing that I can add is about the guage measurement system they use for the gut strings (Oliv, Eudoxa, etc). Guages are expressed in "PM" which means ...Pirastro Measurement.