GINO SFARRA, L'AQUILA (ITALY) - The String Circle

Gino Sfarra makes violins, violas and cellos completely by hand according to the traditional Milanese school. He uses his own models and the varnish is classic traditional Italian oil varnish. On request he also makes copies, antiqued and baroque. He performs restorations and repairs as well as set up and tuning customized for each musician.
Maestro Sfarra trained at the “SCUOLA CIVICA DI LIUTERIA DI MILANO,” graduating with honors in 2015, while simultaneously collaborating with Maestri Lorenzo Rossi and Stefano Gibertoni with whom he was able to refine his technique and seek his own style.

He currently works in L’Aquila, the capital of the Abruzzo region, a city rich in historical-artistic attractions, located about 100km from Rome, surrounded by the “Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park” His atelier is located in a palace of historical-artistic interest dating back to the 15th century (Palazzo Lucentini Bonanni)
right in the center, the area was completely restored after the earthquake that brought the city to its knees in 2009 and is now a masterpiece that thousands of tourists come to visit every year.

CELLO

— currently on loan to Gianluca Pirisi (Ensemble Kinari)

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Model: Gasparo da Salò 1560 ca.

Construction year: 2019

Measurements:
Vibrating string: 676 mm;
Body length: 724 mm;
Top width: 349 mm;
Width at the Cs: 245 mm;
Lower width: 430 mm;
Case Diapason: 380 mm.

Modern version of a very old instrument, considered transitional between the small five-string cello, with a maximum case size of 70 cm, to the modern cello, with an average case size between 75.5 cm and 76.6 cm.
The decision to make this model stems from the desire to rethink in a modern key an instrument that carries with it the great energy of a period of important experimentation.
In fact, the original Gasparo da Salò was made at a time in history when the cello itself had not yet reached the measurements defined as canonical today.
The fascination of such a young but high quality lutherie with a bursting expressive and experimental charge led Maestro Sfarra to want to propose to the contemporary Musician an instrument with old-world charm that offers access to a wide range of acoustic possibilities, allowing one to range from Baroque to modern repertoire.
The instrument is mounted with modern mounts.

PRIZES AND AWARDS

Gino Sfarra’s pursuit of quality in his own work has led him to numerous achievements:

2021 | medal (violin) in the international Spazio Liuteria competition in Gubbio, Italy
2017 | medal (violin) in the international competition of the Central Academy of Arts in Malta
2016 | two medals (viola and cello) in the ANLAI national competition

He is often invited to exhibit at national shows and exhibitions and participates in international fairs annually

The first feeling one gets upon entering Gino's lutherie workshop is that of stepping back in time, the atmosphere one perceives is far from the frenzy of modernity, the scent of wood one breathes it intensely along with the suggestion of the "tools" hanging on the workshop walls, a world of chisels, files, paints, cuts, sounds and measurements. Silhouettes sinuous that slowly come to life in the hands of the meticulous and skilled luthier until they become musical instruments, violins, violas, cellos. "Mine was a path, a choice I arrived at after various experiences, such as my studies at the Casella Conservatory in L'Aquila," the modern Stradivarius from L'Aquila, who is actually also a musician, a multi-instrumentalist, tells Virtù Quotidiane.

GINO SFARRA’S ATELIER

Piazza Regina Margherita 7, L’Aquila (AQ)

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GINO SFARRA, L’AQUILA (ITALY)

CELLO