Handelsbanken Classic Instruments
Handelsbanken Classic Instruments consists of eight high class musical instruments that have been purchased so that a greater number of prominent young musicians have the opportunity to use and make the most of a first class instrument for a long period of time.
Since Steinway & Sons was founded in 1853, the company’s goal has always been to make the finest grand pianos in the world. This objective of creating the best possible instrument is what makes a Steinway the unique piano that it is. Today, 98 per cent of the world’s concert pianists use a Steinway, and 97 per cent use one on a daily basis. 97 per cent of concert halls throughout the world use at least one grand piano from Steinway & Sons.
Steinway’s constant principle has been never to compromise with quality under any circumstances. This means that the company selects only the best materials and takes all the time that it needs to ensure the best tone and lasting quality. This also explains why no more than 1,200 instruments per year are built.
You don’t need to be a professional pianist to hear the difference between a Steinway and other makes of grand piano. Its special tone is obtained by selecting first-class materials and devoting a great deal of time to ‘voicing’ the instrument. Naturally, it is essential that the grand piano is impeccably constructed, so that the instrument can emit perfect notes. This is why Steinway & Sons is the only piano-maker to ensure that the inner and the outer frames are glued together (instead of a “box in a box” construction). The soundboard that lies on the inner frame has such a resilience that even the slightest vibration can be picked up by the audience sitting in the back row of the second balcony in a large concert hall! The touch on a Steinway is quite unique. The manner in which the mechanism is constructed and the keys are weighted means that a unique precision is attained. This not only means that the piano can be played unusually quietly or loudly, but above all that subtleties of tone can be almost infinitely varied.
The back in two pieces of maple with flames of medium width sloping very slightly upwards from the centre joint; the sides and scroll of matching wood; the table in two pieces of spruce of medium grain, narrower at the centre and broadening slightly towards the flanks; the varnish of a light amber-orange colour.
This cello is a fine and characteristic example of the marker’s work, and measures 74.9 cm in length of body, with widths of 33.9 cm and 43.0 cm.
Top plate: of spruce, in 2 parts, narrow to broad annual rings outwards.Back plate: of maple, well-flamed with narrow, rising flames.Ribs: of maple, well-flamed with narrow, rising flames.Scroll: of maple, well-flamed with slightly less distinct flames than the back plate.Varnish: yellow-orange of fine classic quality, on a golden base.Measurements in millimetres: 352.5/205.5/163.5
The previous owner was a Danish violinist, who was a member of the Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen. The musician in question was a student of Peder Møller, the tutor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, for whom Carl Nielsen wrote his violin concerto.
The violin was bought in 1944 from the violin-maker Pauli Merling in Copenhagen. After the Second World War, the then owner went on a concert tour to France, Germany and later the US. In America, there were also master classes and studies under the great Jascha Heifetz. The violin was used as a concert instrument by the previous owner throughout their career until the end of the 1960s.
Cremona, Brescia, Milan, Venice… the names of the cities of northern Italy have, of course, a particularly magical ring for violinists and other connoisseurs of history’s finest stringed instruments. But since the early 18th century there has also been a strong tradition of making outstanding stringed instrument a little further south in Italy. This is associated particularly with the Gagliano family.
The least-known member of the family is probably the founder, Alessandro. After having worked for the masters Amati and Stradivari in Cremona, he brought his expertise back to his home city of Naples. Alessandro’s second son Januarius (in Italian: Gennaro) was active from about 1740 to 1780, and fewer of his instruments have survived. Those that do exist, however, are real connoisseurs’ instruments. They are normally have reddish orange- or reddish brown-coloured varnish, setting them apart from the lighter golden-yellow colour that became common among the Gagliano family’s violins in the later 18th century.
