ON THE BORDERS OF GREATNESS

Instruments made by Giuseppe Sgarbi often turn up in workshops and auction houses, and usually display a high degree of skill and accomplishment. They include violins, violas, cellos and double basses, and are inspired by classical Cremonese models such as those of Amati, Stradivari and Andrea Guarneri – but generally his work is very personal. He worked through most of the 19th century, an era when luthiers were not precious about putting elements of their own personality into the models to which they referred; the construction methods and stylistic interpretation remained very much their own. For such an accomplished luthier, it is perhaps surprising how little Sgarbi’s life has been researched, and how few details have come to light. We still have no idea how he became an instrument maker, for instance, nor who he might have apprenticed with. However, it is very possible that his own making style was not only praised in his own lifetime, but even in€uenced a number of highly regarded makers in his locality. Given he spent much of his career in Finale Emilia, a small county in the province of Modena, this would be an impressive endorsement by his peers.

The ‘Finale’ in Finale Emilia derives from the Latin locus nalis, which loosely translates as ‘border place’. Today it lies between the districts of Modena and Ferrara; it was known as ‘Finale di Modena’ until 1863 when it was incorporated into the newly formed Kingdom of Italy. At the time of Sgarbi’s birth in 1818, the territory was under the jurisdiction of the Este family, the long-time rulers of Ferrara, and had gained a reputation for economic, commercial and cultural vitality: it had received the title of a città in 1779 and it was known as a banking hub, led by the local Jewish community. The region already had a strong tradition of stringed instrument making, numbering several well-known makers in its history: the great Luigi Marconcini, once (mistakenly) considered the apprentice of Omobono Stradivari; his sons and apprentices Gaetano and Giuseppe (the latter may also have been a disciple of Storioni in Milan); Giovanni Battista Grancino; Alessandro Mezzadri; and Giovanni Fiorillo, to name but a few. It could easily be thatfiSgarbi came into contact with a local or travelling musician who recognised his talent for manual and artistic work, and introduced him to instrument making. Perhaps heficould also have put him in contact with another luthier offithe Ferrara region.

Sgarbi dedicated himself to the construction of violas in particular, creating works that are still appreciated for their sonority. It is true that his choice of wood was not always the best, but the quality of his varnish – especially the red pigment – was alwaysfisuperlative.

A typical violin made by Giuseppe Sgarbi in 1853 (see also page 54)

PHOTOS COURTESY INGLES & HAYDAY

As stated, Finale Emilia was in those days a commercial heartland… is was in part attributable to its location on the banks of the Panaro river, a tributary of the Po which connected the city with Ferrara, Mantua, Cremona and Venice – in fact the Este family referred to it as piccola Venezia (‘Little Venice’)… is fact could give an explanation as to the characteristic and diverse .nishing methods evidenced in Sgarbi’s instruments, especially as regards the carving of the scroll. As can be seen in the examples on page 54, the eye of the volute is nicely rounded and the sidechannel is cut deeply, with a noticeable border. Nowadays these stylistic points are usually taken as characteristic of the 19th-century Venetian school, particularly the instruments of Eugenio Degani (1842–1901) and his son Giulio (1875– 1959). Given that Eugenio was only eleven years old at the time the 1853 Sgarbi violin shown here and on page 54 was made, it is very possible that Sgarbi was the precursor of the style today identiThed with thefiVenetian school.

It should also be borne in mind, however, that Degani was born in Merlara, in the province of Padua, and worked in Montagnana from 1868 to 1888, only then moving to Venice. Perhaps he might have encountered Sgarbi’s instruments where he was, but other than the stylistic points described here, there is no documented evidence for this theory.

There is evidence that, aged 55, Sgarbi sent some of his instruments to be featured in the 1873 Vienna World’s Fair, a six-month-long event that attracted more than seven million visitors. In September 1872 he appeared in a short news story in L`Educatore, a short-lived (1871–74) bi-weekly local newspaper. It reads: ‘We had the opportunity to visit the studio of the superlative artisan Giuseppe Sgarbi, our compatriate, who – as our readers know – is building some bowed instruments that are about to be presented at the Vienna Exposition… We strongly believe that the vast majority of them, including a splendid double bass that has already been .nished, are going to occupy a place of distinction at this international fair.’

The newspaper featured Sgarbi again .ve months later, infian article that con.rms he made all the instruments of the violin family, and that he was a fairly well-known .gure in theficity: ‘The readers of L`Educatore… with the intention of encouraging the great artist Giuseppe Sgarbi, have ordered aficollection of bowed stringed instruments from him: two violins of di¢ering dimensions; a viola; a cello; and a double bass, with the intention of having them appear at the Vienna Universal Exposition in May. We have seen these works, and all of them earned our admiration. We are pleased to report that the double bass brings together elegance and magnicence in its tasteful proportions, and that it gives a hefty, balanced sound. e varnish is so excellent that it seems as though all these instruments are covered in a thin, crystalline layer of gold. We trust that these works by Sgarbi will be taken into consideration and bring his efiorts rich rewards, as well as the admiration of those [attending] these fairs, which are the fruit of modern civilisation, reecting the progress of industry, the arts and sciences. We are sure that our judgement will be supported by all those who have had the opportunity to admire the aforementioned instruments, which have been on display for several days in the foyer of the City eatre, and who understand artistic beauty.’

PHOTOS COURTESY LORENZO FRIGNANI

SGARBI’S NEW WORKSHOP IN MODENA IMMEDIATELY ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF CONCERT PLAYERS AND PASSIONATE AMATEUR MUSICIANS

Sgarbi spent the majority of his life in his home town, of which he was evidently proud – some of his labels bear the legend ‘fece in Finale di Modena, sua Patria’. However, life in Finale was not always easy. In 1862 there appears a note in the city’s Register of City Council Deliberations (see page 56) alluding to Sgarbi’s debts to the city, probably in terms of an outstanding loan: ‘Topic – the question of Giuseppe Sgarbi, who cedes to the City some bowed stringed instruments built by him, which have won awards at the Exposition of Florence, in paid exchange for money amounts owed to the City, from which he proted; and which permitted the construction of the instruments mentioned above’.

In 1878, at the age of 60, Sgarbi moved to Rome accompanied by his wife and twelve-year-old son Antonio, who was already apprenticing in his father`s workshop (it being quite normal at the time for a pre-adolescent to be given responsible jobs at the workshop). According to the 1894 publication Manuale storico del violinista Antonio grew up to be quite an adventurer, as author Giuseppe Branzoli states: ‘is outstanding luthier, at 28 years of age, went as a volunteer to the war against Serbia. He took with him his clarinet, which he played excellently. He performed at a charity concert in Belgrade where the King Milano [Milan I of Serbia, 1868–89] made him a knight. After the war he returned to his father in Rome and began working as a luthier. He made rapid progress and won gold medals at various fairs. Following in his father’s footsteps, he improved the quality of the varnish, reducing it with white linseed oil.’

The family remained in the capital until 1890, when Giuseppe moved to Modena, handing the Rome workshop over to Antonio. He opened a new workshop of his own in Modena’s old town, immediately attracting the attention of concert players and passionate amateur musicians. He also found himself sought after by young craftsmen looking for apprentice work, among them Pietro Messori (1870–1952), who began visiting the workshop in 1893 aged 22 and demonstrated a great interest for the construction of stringed instruments. In return he received his master’s trust and support, and Messori’s earliest instruments clearly adhere to the work of Sgarbi. e emphatic corners; bee-stings brought right to the extremities; thin varnish of a burnt amber colour with an oxidised efiect (sometimes more orange); the deeply cut scroll channels – all these are features common to both Sgarbi’s instruments and Messori’s early work.

Sgarbi died in Modena in 1905. In the same year, the 39-year-old Antonio closed the workshop in Rome and moved to Sicily, where he took the position of luthier to the Bellini Conservatoire. He was ideally suited to the task: not only did he work with his own models but he also made excellent imitations of violins, violas, cellos and double basses. As the historian Giovanni Paolo di Stefano notes in the 2013 book Musical instruments in Sicilian Collections: ‘At the end of the 19th century a signi cant personality in Palermo’s lutherie history was Antonio Sgarbi. Coming from Emilia, but working at the end of the century in Rome, he was called to Palermo by the City Conservatoire in around 1896, to occupy the position of luthier at the institution. Over the course of his time there, Sgarbi took care of restoring the better part of all the Conservatoire’s old instruments, and constructed some new instruments for students and teachers.’ In 1912 Sgarbi was succeeded in the role by Alfonso Averna, of whom Di Stefano notes a strong relationship with Antonio’s style – as well as with his son Enrico Averna. Domenico di Leo was a pupil of Antonio’s during his time in Sicily, and even a young Simone Fernando Sacconi (1895–1973) worked with him for a period, having been sent to Sicily during his military service in World War I. A number of letters, writings, photos, notes, annotations and drawings from this period have recently come to light, all originating from Antonio Sgarbi’s workshop. Many of them refer to instrument construction, varnish composition and wood-ageing techniques, suggesting that Sacconi’s interest in such matters originated here.

This document from 1862 attests to Sgarbi’s donation of instruments to the city in order to pay off a debt (see page 54)

Simone Sacconi’s signature on two items discovered among Antonio Sgarbi’s effects: (above) a notebook dated 23 September 1930; and (¡eft) a letter from Rome

As Giuseppe Sgarbi hailed from a literal ‘border place’, it could be seen as an ironic twist of fate that, until now, his life and work have always remained on the margins of lutherie knowledge. However, it would seem that attitudes are changing: the violins and cellos of both Giuseppe and Antonio are highly esteemed pieces on the instrument market, and fetch notable prices at auction. Two examples worth mentioning are a violin by Giuseppe Sgarbi that sold for $46,398 in June 2015, and an Antonio Sgarbi violin that in October 2019 went for $35,673. Moreover, an 1884 Giuseppe Sgarbi violin is loaned to the winner of Verona’s Francesco Geminiani Award, for either one or two years. The prize is o¢ered to European music students or graduates aged between 17 and 22. Perhaps the time has come to bring the work of Giuseppe Sgarbi o¢ the sidelines and reappraise him as an individual master with a rare and special talent.

AS SGARBI HAILED FROM A LITERAL ‘BORDER PLACE’, IT IS IRONIC THAT, UNTIL NOW, HIS LIFE AND WORK HAVE REMAINED ON THE MARGINS OF LUTHERIE KNOWLEDGE

AN UNUSUAL GIUSEPPE SGARBI VIOLIN

Made in 1853, when Giuseppe Sgarbi was 35 years old, this is a very mature work in many respects, both technical and stylistic. We can recognise elements of the region’s making traditions in the work of the scroll: the thin bevels, the deeply carved volute and the rounded eye. The lateral groove is also visible.

We can also observe Sgarbi’s elongated bee-sting that goes right to the edge of the corners, as well as the superlative choice of wood for the back: a beautiful field maple, or oppio, which is also typical of local makers. The decoration is masterfully executed.