50 Modern Violins, Violas and Cellos Come from Italy to US for Exhibit

February 10, 2025, 3:57 PM · I've always wanted to go to Cremona, Italy - birthplace of the great violin maker Antonio Stradivarius (1644-1737). It's a place that has re-emerged now in the 21st century as a center of fine violin-making, as well as home to an entire museum dedicated to the violin - the Museo del Violino.

Cremona Fortunately, a little bit of Cremona is coming to the Los Angeles area on Feb. 18-19, when some 50 stringed instruments made by 40+ living luthiers from Cremona will be featured at Metzler Violin Shop in Glendale in its Cremonese Violin Exhibition & Sale.

"Most string players associate Cremona, Italy with its famous 16th- and 17th-century luthier families, such as the Amatis, Guarneris, Ruggieris, and Stradivaris," said Thomas Metzler, owner and founder of Metzler Violin Shop. "But today, some 300 years later, Cremona remains hugely relevant, with over 150 active violin makers, as well as scores of students of violin making at the Cremona International School of Violin Making established in 1938."

The instruments - including 32 violins, eight violas; nine cellos; and five bows - are being presented at Metzler by a group of Cremonese luthiers called Consorzio Liutai "Antonio Stradivari" Cremona), whose president Giorgio Grisales will be in attendance.

Those instruments will be played in a series of "Tonal Comparision" demonstrations, featuring violinist Andrés Cárdenes, violist Jenni Seo and cellist Andrew Shulman.

L-R: violinist Andrés Cárdenes, violist Jenni Seo and cellist Andrew Shulman.

"Cremonese violin makers today are inspired by the famous makers of its past, but are also informed by modern historical and scientific research," Metzler said. "We are pleased to be able to offer American string players one of the largest collections of contemporary violins, violas, and cellos to ever leave Italy, available in Los Angeles for six weeks only.”

RSVP here if you are in town and wish to attend any of the three tonal comparison events (cello and viola on Feb. 18, violin on Feb. 19). Otherwise, you can watch the violin demonstration via Facebook Live, at this link.

Several weeks after the demonstrations, individual clips of the instruments made available on Metzler Violin Shop's Youtube channel.

You can also pore over these instruments on the Metzler Violin Shop website, where you can click on a picture of each instrument to learn the story of every maker, as well as the price, and in some cases see a clip with a demonstration of the instrument's sound. (Find them all here.)

If you are in the Los Angeles area, the Cremona exhibition instruments will be available for in-store trial February 18-19, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Call 818-246-0278 to make an appointment). From February 19 to March 31, instruments may be checked out for home trial for up to three days.

Left, Cremonese maker Stefano Trabucchi, with the violin he will present at the Metzler exhibition. Right, the Cathedral of Cremona.

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50 Modern Violins, Violas and Cellos Come from Italy to US for Exhibit

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