Carlo Giuseppe Testore

TESTORE, Carlo Giuseppe Born 1660 Novara, died 1738 Milan Italy. Active in Milan from c.1683. Pupil of G. Grancino. The best maker of the family, his work can rival that of Grancino, and shows the influence of both Amati and Stradivari, with a fine low arching characteristic of the Milanese school. The most obvious distinguishing feature of the Testore scroll is its oval form, elongated along the line of the neck. The Grancino scroll also shows a tendency towards the oval, but rotated vertically. Purfling often quite broad with a core of beech wood. Materials generally of good quality, sometimes with beautifully regular flame in the backs. Rich yellow varnish with fine texture. Succeeded by his son Carlo Antonio, below. Cellos very fine, if oversized, often with plain backs of willow or pear. Scrolls of beech or maple. Carlo Giuseppe Testore allievo / di Gio. Grancino in Contrada / Larga di Milano, 1690 Carlo Giuseppe Testore in Con / trada larga di Milano, al / segno dell’aquila, 1710

b. at Novara; settled at Milan about 1687, and worked there till about 1720. He was a pupil of Giovanni Grancino, for whose work his instruments are often mistaken. He was the best workman in this family, but did not make many instruments. His violins, of excellent wood, show good strong work, but not highly finished, and are plain in appearance. The pattern varies; it is moderately arched , the varnish is dry and of a brownish-yellow colour; the tone is good, sometimes very powerful and penetrating. For his violoncellos he generally used pear-tree wood for the backs and very fine wood for the bellies ; the tone was very powerful. When the well-known Lindley “Grancino” violoncello was repaired in 1844, by Andreas Engleder of Münich, the original label, in good preservation, read as follows : ” Carlo Giuseppe Testore allievo di Gio. Gran-cino in Contrada Larga di Milano, 1690.” A double-bass of his was played on by the celebrated Bottesini at concerts; it had a splendid tone. Label: “Carlo Giuseppe Testore in Contrada larga di Milano al segno deir aquila, 1700.” He had two sons, Carlo Antonio and Paolo Antonio, both violin makers.

He copied Guarneri with singular ability. The work in his best instruments is highly finished.

Ein Schüler Giov. Grancino’s und vielleicht auch Cappa’s, liess sich 1687 in Mailand nieder, wo er in der Contrada larga wohnte und das Ladenschild »all’ aquila« hatte. Er war der Bedeutendste aus seiner Familie, doch kommen nicht viele Geigen von ihm vor. Entweder hat er nur wenige gemacht, oder es gehen jetzt viele unter dem Namen Grancino’s oder gar Cappa’s, in welch letzterem Falle es nicht schwer ist, ihm seine Arbeit zurückzugeben Er arbeitete nach verschiedenen Modellen und nahm vortreffliches Holz. Der Lack ist braungelb, der Ton meist edel und weittragend. Seine Violoncelli und Bässe sind gleichfalls recht gut, obwohl er den Boden meist aus Birnbaumholz hergestellt hat. Dass er auch in Cremona gearbeitet hat, wie behauptet wird, ist unerwiesen.

Pupil of Grancino. After the Guarnerius model, this make is well finished. Pale red or yellow-brown varnish. His ‘cellos are particularly fine, some made of poplar or pear-tree wood. The scroll is not graceful: the sound holes elongated, but of a regular design and cut. Carlo Giuseppe Testore allievo di Gio Grancino in Contrada Larga di Milano. 16..

Milan. Born 1660, died 1737. Pupil of Giovanni Grancino. Worked on the models of Nicolo Amati, Guarneri, Gofr. Cappa and Ant. Stradivari. Each specimen, however, is distinguished by a peculiar touch of its own; the arching reminds of Nicolo Amati. The wood is not always fine-looking; the back is often of pear wood, but always finished with care. The purfling is rather broad, the delicately carved scrolls often too small. The faultlessly applied varnish is golden-yellow, brown-yellow or red-yellow. As far as the tone is concerned, his works constitute outstanding concert instruments, particularly his contrabasses and ‘cellos which are coated with a red-brown or hard red varnish. Price 40 —75.000 Kc.