Carlo Bergonzi

Who was Carlo Bergonzi?

Carlo Bergonzi was an Italian luthier who apprenticed with Hieronymus Amati, collaborated with Joseph Guarneri, and is considered the greatest pupil of Antonio Stradivari.

Bergonzi is the first and most noted member of the Bergonzi family, an illustrious group of luthiers from Cremona, Italy, a city with a rich tradition of stringed instrument fabricators. His parents lived next door to Stradivari in the Piazza San Domenico in Cremona. Bergonzi apprenticed under Stradivari and eventually was given all of Stradivari’s repair business. Since his repair services were in high demand, Bergonzi was unable to devote the time to producing many of his own instruments. Bergonzi violin designs were based on the Stradivari and Guarneri templates.

Bergonzi labels vary, but typically record date, name, and location:

Anno 1733, Carlo Bergonzi

fece in Cremona

The Kreisler Bergonzi, named after violinist Fritz Kreisler. At one time it was also owned by violinist Itzhak Perlman. Both Kreisler and Perlman performed and recorded with it.

It is known that many instruments that bear his label are inauthentic. A cello once owned by Pablo Casals was for many years thought to be a Bergonzi because of the label it bore indicated: "Carlo Bergonzi . . . 1733." It was later found to have actually been made by Matteo Goffriller.