History of the Lipinski Stradivarius
Violins are usually named after their first owner, but not the Lipinski. In 1715 Stradivarius sold the violin to Guiseppe Tartini, who later passed it on to one of his students, Signor Salvini. But Salvini after hearing Lipinski play, asked the man for his violin, smashed it to pieces against the corner of a table, and handed the Stradivarius to the shocked Lipinski. Finally, the violin had a home and a name. After Lipinski’s death, the violin passed through numerous collections until it ended in 1962 with Evi Liivak, a violin soloist from Estonia. When Liivak’s died, her husband, a concert pianist, refused to part with the instrument. But when he passed away in 2008, the violin was offered to Frank Almond, a Milwaukee Symphony Concertmaster. Almond after a concert was stun gunned in a church parking lot and his violin stolen. The instrument was recovered nine days later.
Guiseppe Tartini, and the Tones
Guiseppe Tartini contributed to the science of acoustics, inventing the “Tartini Tones,” the auditory illusion sometimes referred to as Ghost Notes. Often it is a low note perceived when the only sounds are high notes. It is useful in tuning a string instrument but some argue that it has an important role in the development of scales and temperament. This YouTube video features an explanation of the Tartini Tones. Tartini’s compositions were numerous and illustrated his passionate and skillful style of execution.
Lore has it that in 1776, Tartini had a dream about the devil. Tartini asked the devil if he knew how to play the violin and the devil said he believed he could pick out a tune. Thereupon the devil played a sonata so exquisite that Tartini thought he had never heard any music to equal it. When he woke, he tried to write the composition but never succeeded to his satisfaction. Il Trillo del Diavolo or The Devil’s Sonata, although is one of his best productions, Tartini believed it paled in comparison to satan’s.