A short history of polish violin-making, which have rich over five century long tradition:
En el siglo
XV se empezo a usar la expresión
¨fabricante de instrumentos de cuerda¨.
En Polonia apenas a finales del siglo XIX.
Anteriormente se les llamaba simplemete ¨gusmanes¨.
En la antiguedad practicamente cada instrumentalista era
el creador su popio instrumento.
La primera cita de violines en la litera polaca data del
siglo XVI.
Por ejemplo, en uno de los sermones de la Edad Media
se habla de violines, así como en ¨Reflexiones de la
vida de Jesús¨
(aprox. año 1500).
Mucha información de los principios
de los primeros
violines en tierras polacas la podemos encontrar en los
tratados
de teóricos alemanes.
Martin Agrícola (1486-1556) en „Musica
instrumentalis deutsch”
menciona el violín polaco „polische Geige”
como un instrumento conocido y popular en Polonia,
especificando
al mismo tiempo su construcción, modo de tocarlo, sonido,
sugiriendo simultáneamente que el violín es de
procedencia polaca.
Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) en
„Syntagma Musicum”
escribe que los personajes importantes del violín son
polacos
y confirma que el origen y el surgimiento del violín
está vinculado
estrictamente con Polonia. A pesar de que al principio
el violín nunca se trató con la misma importancia que
el arpa,
viola u otros instrumentos de cuerda en las mansiones de
magnates,
su popularidad la logró en las clases bajas de la
sociedad.
Su aparición ya en forma clásica en la I mitad del
siglo XVI
creó en Polonia una gran demanda de este instrumento
e incrementó el interés por él. La fabricación de
instrumentos
de cuerda tenía la opinión de oficio honorable, muy
bien valorado,
y el fabricante gozaba de una excelente posición social.
Así como en Italia o Alemania, este arte se transfería
de padres a hijos, de generación en generación.
La fabricación de instrumentos de
cuerda en Polonia también
jugó un papel importante en el desarrollo de esta
disciplina europea.
El viaje de Italia a Cracovia que realizó en el año
1518
Bona Sforza, la esposa del rey polaco Zygmunt I,
emprendió buenos contactos con el mercado occidental y
meridional,
cuestión que influyó positivamente en la cultura y el
arte.
Las sucesivas sedes de la corte real: Cracovia, Varsovia,
Poznan,
Vilna se convirtieron en los
principales centros culturales.
The first famous violin-makers in Poland
The characteristic features of Cracov school instruments
Mateusz Dobrucki (1520~1602)
One of the ancient known Polish violin-makers.
We don't know his works; from the documents coming 1602,
we learn that he owned a big violin-making atelier, in
which i
t was several tens of violins in the act of construction
and many materials and ready elements.
Baltazar Dankwart I (I half
16th century-1622)
The first, most outstanding representative of Dankwart's
lineage.
He's one of the first violin-makers in Poland. Probably
he held
a position of the royal violin-maker in Cracov (together
with Dobrucki).
After the death of the King Zygmunt August (1572), he
moved to Vilnius,
where he was making string instruments for the courtly
choir.
Soon he was nominated to the position of courtly violin-maker
of king.
Jan Dankwart (~1600-1683)
The longer part of his life he worked in Warsaw.
Son and student of Baltazar Dankwart I.
Baltazar Dankwart II (~1629- 1690)
Probably the son and learner of Jan Dankwart.
As jesuit, he was the author of the sacred works.
His one and only violin is in the Museum of Instruments
in Poznan.
Marcin Groblicz I (~1540~1609)
The most famous violin-maker from Cracov. He began family
tradition and the Groblicz violin-making dynasty. We don't
know
much about his life. Only from distinctive-chits we
understand,
where and when he created. Probably he practised in
Italian ateliers.
From Dobrucki, Dankwarts and Groblicz lineages begins the
history
of the Polish violin-making art. Common stylistic
features of the works
from those times we call „the Cracov school”.
The supreme collection
of these instruments is in Museum of Instruments in
Poznan.
Elongated body of the instrument;
shallow bouts "CC", widened and open
"waist"; short corners, often double purfling
situated near the border;
characteristicly rether highly arching; large and low-placed
soudholes
with big eyes whose inner "tongues" are cut
sharply (like in brescian school);
ribs and back plate made of eye-sycamore; top plate of
densly-rinped spruce;
the head is typically stylised as a "dragon head";
on the outer side of the pegboxthere is a very rich,
curved, flored ornament.
The stylistic features of cracov school show a
relationship with Brescian
school (Italy). We assume that in many of the instruments
from Polish
violin-making ateliers, the identity chits had been
changed; so these
instruments are today treated as originated in Italy.
In Polish violin-making (17th and 18th century), besides
Italian influences,
there were German and Austrian influences (especially
from Tirol and Vienna).
Well-known violin-makers of those times: T. Glazowski, B.
Przeworski,
K. Puniecki, D. Kawarski, S. Zwierzyniecki, M.
Kwiatkowski, F. Gromalski,
J. Kostrzewski. The most priced violin-makers of those
times:
Kazimierz Burzenski, Wojciech Pilichowski (1750-1802;
Cracov),
Karol Ferdynand Lang (1811-1906; Lvov).
In the 19th century Mikolaj Sawicki
was one of the most famous Polish
violin-makers (1793-1850; Lvov -Vienna). In 1828 the well-known
violinist
Nicolo Paganini, fascinated by the violin created by
Sawicki, called him:
"an exceptional genius"...In the 19th and 20th
century the violin-making regained interestand renascence
again.
Tomasz Panufnik (1876-1951) was the principal
personage of the Polish lutherie of those times. He's
author of the first
theoretical violin-making works ("Violin-making art",
1926;
"Violin-making technology", 1934). Panufnik is
the author of the famous
instruments, excellent experimenter, priced violin-maker
among
the famous virtuosos. He made new models of the violin
"Polonia"
and "Antica"- expressed new stylistic ideas.
The model "Polonia" differs in
form
from the instruments in the secession style.
Others most famous polish violin-makers at this time:
in Krakow: Józef Zajac, Henryk Skórzynski, Piotr Kubas (1906-1978), Jan Chamot (1894-1973), and Haussler family,
in Poznan: Eibich family, Stanislaw Niewczyk (1890-1969).
in Lvov: Wladyslaw Baczynski (1866-1924) /learner of Gustaw Haussler from Krakow and Knopf in New York/,
in Warsaw: Rudert family, Konstanty Pruszak (1883-1961), Eugeniusz Gosiewski (1901-1974), Pawel Bojomir Kruzinski (1877-1921), Fryderyk Kanigowski,
violin- and bow-maker /„polish Tourte”/, author of essay „About the violins and others string instruments”/,
Tolimir Zarski (1834-1896), one from most famous violin-makers from Warsaw,in Katowice: Józef Swirek (1899-1978),
in Lodz: J. Radzikowski (1888-1974).
Others famous polish violin makers: Florian Sikora, Józef Jarocki, Karol & Szymon Troszczynscy, Józef Makowiecki, Ludwik Arnold, Józef Rymwid Mickiewicz, Józef Zajac,
Marcin Czternastek, Mieczyslaw Bielanski.
W 1954 roku, z inicjatywy wybitnych
artystów skrzypków i lutników, powstaje Stowarzyszenie
Polskich Artystów Lutników. Warto tutaj wspomniec, iz w
tym czasie, jako pierwsze w Europie,
lutnictwo polskie uznane zostalo przez panstwo za sztuke.
Od 1955 roku organizowany jest co cztery lata,
Miedzynarodowy Konkurs Lutniczy im. Henryka Wieniawskiego.
Od 1957 roku odbywa sie w Poznaniu.