| It was surely with a trembling hand that in 1734 Antonio Stradivari – already ninety years old – gave what was presumably his last contralto viola (which was smaller than his tenor violas) a craftsmanlike and artistic vitality which made it an instrument of unusual tone colour and beauty. It says more about the master and his work than the most priceless of the instruments of his “Golden Period”. The Gibson demonstrates an absolute perfection, and is in excellent condition today, more than 250 years after it was made. It is the only viola in which the back of the sound box was “slab cut” (tangential cut). Most violins and violas were “quarter sawn” (radial cut). This is how things have remained until the present day. This jewel of an instrument is named after the Englishman George Alfred Gibson (1849-1924), who was Professor of Violin at the Royal Academy and a famous soloist, and who was also the viola player in the world famous “Joachim Quartet” in which he played this instrument. |
