The Guadagnini Violin of the ABU

Since summer 2021, the Anton Bruckner University has been in possession of a particularly valuable string instrument: a 270-year-old violin by Italian violin maker Giovanni Battista Guadagnini. The violin, built in Milan in 1750, was privately owned and was donated to the university, where the precious instrument with its special sound is made available on loan for one academic year to a student of the ABU, who is selected through an audition. The costs of insuring the valuable instrument are covered by the ABU.

The violin is in excellent condition and is carefully maintained by us. For our students, playing our Guadagnini violin means following in the footsteps of Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, and Régis Pasquier, who brought this violin maker world fame. They immediately feel the connection to a sound tradition that has shaped music history. If you are a scholarship holder, studying at the Bruckner University becomes an experience that uniquely combines the past and the future.

Information about the instrument

Violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Milan, 1750
Authenticity confirmed by certificates from Jacques Français (New York, 1975) and Emil Herrmann (New York, 1925).

Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (1711-1786), born near Piacenza, was one of the leading Italian violin makers of his time. His work can be divided into four periods, corresponding to the places where he worked: Piacenza, Milan, Parma, and Turin. Some of his instruments are among the best in the world. Great violinists of the 19th century played on Guadagnini violins, such as Henri Vieuxtemps, Henryk Wieniawski, and Hubert Léonard. Even today, Guadagnini instruments are highly prized and played by numerous soloists, including violinists Julia Fischer, Vanessa Mae, Viktoria Mullowa, David Garrett, and cellists Chang Han-na, Sol Gabetta, and Friedrich Kleinhapl.