Testore, Carlo Antonio
Testore Carlo Giuseppe, *circa 1665 Novara (?), † 5 March 1716 Milan. The first and most important representative of the Italian violin-making dynasty; he was educated in Milan by G. Grancin (whose father was a student of N. Amati) and probably by G. Cappa in Saluzzo. Around 1687, he founded a workshop in Milan, where he built high-quality violins, violas, cellos and double basses, mainly according to models by N. Amati, G.B. Guarneri del Gesù and Stradivari. Their excellent acoustic properties, despite not always the best wood, and pale yellow or orange-brown varnish, resemble Grancina instruments, although they are characterised by a slightly longer body (355 mm), less sharp corners, smaller F-holes and flatter scrolls. In the 18th century, his instruments were often equipped with forged violin notes due to their great similarity to N. Amati’s instruments. Due to their sound qualities, Testory’s instruments, especially cellos, are highly valued today and copied by countless violin makers.
Literature: E. Mariani Nel mondo della liuteria italiana, Savona 1972; La liuteria milanese nel XVIII secolo. Mostra organizzata nel Museo annesso alla Biblioteca del Conservatorio…, exhibition catalogue, Milan 1982; U. Azzolina Liuteria italiana del’Ottocento e del Novecento, Cremona 1989; C. Chiesa Violin Making and Makers on the Contrada Larga in Milan and P. Kass Stringed Instruments of the Milanese Liutai of the Contrada Larga, “Journal of the Violin Society of America” XIV, 1996; L. Libin Carlo Antonio Testore Violin (1737), “The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin” LVI/2, 1998; S. Reiley Carlo Giuseppe Testore Double Bass, c. 1750, “Bass World. The Magazine of the International Society of Bassists” XXVIII, 2004.