Domenico Montagnana

Domenico Montagnana (Lendinara, 1686 – Venice, 1750) was one of the great instrument makers of the Venetian school of the eighteenth century. Born in Lendinara on 24 June 1686, he moved to Venice around 1699. There he was probably a pupil and assistant of Matteo Goffriller, and around 1711 he set up his own workshop, perhaps associated in those early years with Francesco Gobetti.

Surviving instruments rarely predate 1720, but from then on his reputation grew rapidly and his output was considerable. His violins follow several models. Those of standard size and flat outline are excellent for the modern solo repertoire; others, of reduced dimensions or with a higher body in the manner of Stainer, are today less suited to that purpose.

He is credited with a single viola, the one Tertis played for many years; although its form was altered from the original, it inspired the 'Tertis' model, adopted by numerous luthiers today.

His fame rests above all on his cellos, which many soloists today regard as ideal. Bold and at times imposing in appearance, they approach the tonal quality of the great Cremonese instruments and gain volume with an energetic attack. The novelist Charles Reade called him 'the powerful Venetian'.