Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) was the most celebrated violin maker of the Cremonese School, born in Cremona, Italy. He was a pupil of Nicholas Amati, and began to work on his own account about 1666. The instruments of what is termed his "grand period" (1700 to about 1725) are unrivaled for elegance of form and beauty of workmanship, and the violins of Giuseppe Guarnieri "del Gesú" alone compare with them in tone-producing qualities.
