Oreste Candi
Encyclopedia
Oreste Candi was an Italian luthier.
Candi was born in Minerbio near Bologna
. He was the older brother of Cesare Candi
, and was the first of the two brothers to apprentice under Raffaele Fiorini
(in Bologna). He later moved to work in Genoa
.
In 1886 he was already an employee of the Barberis brothers. Then, in the last decade of the 19th century, he dedicated himself to the construction of mandolins and guitars with his younger brother Cesare in their own violin making workshop in via dei Servi 54.
From the 1900s to 1930, Oreste had a workshop at Vico di Ponticello. He began making stringed instruments at a relatively late age; the construction of violins before 1915 was sporadic.
'The most interesting of his works were inspired by the Genova school of the 18th Century which he probably knew from originals and also copies left from Erminio Montefiori.'
Mention must be made of Oreste Candi’s only pupil, Lorenzo Bellafontana, whose production of bowed instruments is not consistent, interspersed as it is with many guitars and repair works, but is nonetheless interesting for the changes in style that those instruments show. During the 1950s he made a fair number of ‘ Cannon’ violins in the style of Praga that sometimes bear original labels. Evidently the tradition of violin making in Genoa continued unbroken.
The single factor that is consistent with modern times and the past is a dark violin that for around 150 years has lain in the city’s town hall: Paganini’s ‘Cannon’ is the true thread, the obligatory reference point not only for every maker who has considered this violin as a starting point, but also for those makers (like Cesare Candi) who respectfully kept their distance.
In 1936, two years before he died at Genova
, Candi made his one and only double bass
. The label reads "#122, Oreste Candi, fece in Genvoa, l'anno 1936. This is the one and only Candi Bass; http://www.kensmithbasses.com/doublebasses/Candi/Candi.html
Il Suono Di Bologna 2002 - Biographies of the Makers on Display in December at www.ilsuonodibologna.org
Candi was born in Minerbio near Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
. He was the older brother of Cesare Candi
Cesare Candi
Candi, Cesare - .Italian maker of violins, mandolins, guitars and other string instruments. In 1884, after his father's death, he went to work with his brother Oreste Candi at the workshop of Raffaele Fiorini in Bologna...
, and was the first of the two brothers to apprentice under Raffaele Fiorini
Raffaele Fiorini
Raffaele Fiorini , was an influential Italian violin maker.Innovator. personality and pioneer of the great rebirth of contemporary Bolognese violinmaking, Fiorini was born at Musiano di Pian di Macina di Pianoro near Bologna.He spent his first youth in Bazzano where he learned the first elements of...
(in Bologna). He later moved to work in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
.
In 1886 he was already an employee of the Barberis brothers. Then, in the last decade of the 19th century, he dedicated himself to the construction of mandolins and guitars with his younger brother Cesare in their own violin making workshop in via dei Servi 54.
From the 1900s to 1930, Oreste had a workshop at Vico di Ponticello. He began making stringed instruments at a relatively late age; the construction of violins before 1915 was sporadic.
'The most interesting of his works were inspired by the Genova school of the 18th Century which he probably knew from originals and also copies left from Erminio Montefiori.'
Mention must be made of Oreste Candi’s only pupil, Lorenzo Bellafontana, whose production of bowed instruments is not consistent, interspersed as it is with many guitars and repair works, but is nonetheless interesting for the changes in style that those instruments show. During the 1950s he made a fair number of ‘ Cannon’ violins in the style of Praga that sometimes bear original labels. Evidently the tradition of violin making in Genoa continued unbroken.
The single factor that is consistent with modern times and the past is a dark violin that for around 150 years has lain in the city’s town hall: Paganini’s ‘Cannon’ is the true thread, the obligatory reference point not only for every maker who has considered this violin as a starting point, but also for those makers (like Cesare Candi) who respectfully kept their distance.
In 1936, two years before he died at Genova
Génova
Génova may refer to:* Spanish spelling of the city of Genoa, Italy* Génova, Quindío, a municipality in the department of Quindío, Colombia* Génova, Quetzaltenango, a municipality in the department of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala...
, Candi made his one and only double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
. The label reads "#122, Oreste Candi, fece in Genvoa, l'anno 1936. This is the one and only Candi Bass; http://www.kensmithbasses.com/doublebasses/Candi/Candi.html
Biography
- Blot, Eric (1994). "Liguria III", Un secolo di liuteria italiana, 1860-1960 - A century of Italian violin making. Cremona: Turris. ISBN 8879291254.
- La Liuteria Italiana / Italian Violin Making in the 1800s and 1900s - Umberto Azzolina
- I Maestri Del Novicento - Carlo Vettori
- La Liuteria Lombarda del '900 - Roberto Codazzi, Cinzia Manfredini 2002
- Dictionary of 20th Century Italian Violin Makers - Marlin Brinser 1978
- Vannes, Rene [1951] (1985). Dictionnaire Universel del Luthiers (vol.3). Bruxelles: Les Amis de la musique. OCLC 53749830.
- William, Henley (1969). Universal Dictionary of Violin & Bow Makers. Brighton; England: Amati. ISBN 0901424005.
External links
http://www.giordanoviolins.com/english/articles/genoeseline.htmlIl Suono Di Bologna 2002 - Biographies of the Makers on Display in December at www.ilsuonodibologna.org