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Montagnana, Domenico

(b Lendinara, 24 June 1686; d Venice, 7 March 1750). Italian string instrument maker. He went to Venice about 1699 and probably in due course became the pupil and assistant of Matteo Goffriller; in about 1711 he opened his own shop, though at this time he may also have been associated with Francesco Gobetti. Surviving instruments seldom date from earlier than about 1720, but from then on his reputation grew fast and his output was considerable.

Montagnana's violins were made on a number of different patterns. The standard sized flat models make first-rate modern-style solo instruments, but others are now less suitable for this purpose because of their small dimensions or a tendency towards the higher build favoured by Stainer, whose instruments were popular in Venice as elsewhere in Italy. Only one viola has been attributed to Montagnana: the instrument used for many years by Tertis. Its shape, though altered from the instrument's original form, was the inspiration for the ‘Tertis’ model adopted by many modern makers.

Montagnana is especially famed for his cellos. Encouraged by the cello's particular popularity in Venice, and perhaps commissioned by the four music conservatories, he produced cellos that are regarded by many of today's soloists as ideal. Bold, sometimes massive in appearance, they have much of the quality of sound of the great Cremonese instruments and a greater volume when forcefully played. The novelist Charles Reade dubbed Montagnana ‘the mighty Venetian’, and all familiar with his work acknowledge its power.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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W. Henley: Universal Dictionary of Violin and Bow makers (Brighton, 1959–60)

S. Toffolo: Antichi strumenti veneziani 1500–1800: quattro secoli di liuteria e cembalaria (Venice, 1987)

Les violons: lutherie venitienne, peintures et dessins, Hôtel de Ville, Paris, 21 March–7 May 1995 (Paris, 1995) [exhibition catalogue]

CHARLES BEARE

© Oxford University Press 2007