The Guarneri ( / ɡ w ɑːr ˈ n ɛər i / , UK also /- ˈ n ɪər -/ , Italian: [ɡwarˈnɛːri] ), often referred to in the Latinized form Guarnerius , is the family name of a group of distinguished luthiers from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati and Stradivari families.
20-475: Two of Andrea's sons continued the father's traditions: Giuseppe Giovanni Battista was father to two further instrument makers: Other 20th-century 'del Gesù' players include Arthur Grumiaux , Jascha Heifetz , Leonid Kogan , Kyung Wha Chung , Michael Rabin , Joseph Silverstein , Isaac Stern , Pinchas Zukerman , Charles Fleischman , Robert McDuffie , Itzhak Perlman , Midori Goto , Rachel Barton Pine , Henryk Szeryng , Sarah Chang , Leila Josefowicz and
40-664: A concert pianist who makes an ENSA tour to North Africa and the Mediterranean region. The film Desert Mice (1959) follows the fictional escapades of an ENSA troop with Sid James assigned to the Afrika Korps . The only known ENSA theatre to have survived in its original condition is the Garrison Theatre at Hurst Castle in the New Forest National Park . Created by servicemen in 1939, the proscenium arch still bears
60-493: Is a center object in one of Andrea Camilleri 's main Montalbano novels La Voce del violino ("The voice of the violin"). In the summer of 2010, the ex- Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù, a violin built in 1741 by Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri, was offered for sale at auction with a starting bid of $ 18 million, the highest price ever sought for a musical instrument. The violin was later sold for an undisclosed sum and Anne Akiko Meyers
80-467: Is regarded by critics as one of the greatest chamber music recordings in history. In 1974 the Trio recorded Mozart's string quintets , with the addition of violinist Arpad Gerécz and violist Max Lesueur, for Philips, which were included in the 1991 Complete Mozart Edition . A recording of Grumiaux's performance of one movement from Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin , the "Gavotte en rondeaux" from
100-474: Is stronger in the 200 Hz and 250 Hz bands and above 1.6 kHz. Guarneri violins are also known by the extension of Giuseppe Guarneri 's name, Del Gesù. Del Gesùs are on average stronger from 315 Hz up to 1.25 kHz. These differences are perceived as a more brilliant sound and stronger fundamentals of the lowest notes of the Stradivari, versus a darker sound in the del Gesùs. A Guarneri violin
120-614: The 11th Ceremony . He owned a Guarneri , the "Rose", made by Giuseppe Guarneri in 1744, and played (but did not own ) a Stradivarius , the "General Dupont", made in 1727. He also owned the "Museum", made by Giuseppe Guarneri in 1739, and the "Campoli", made by Giovanni Guadagnini in 1773. The Arthur Grumiaux International Violin Competition is held annually and takes place at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in Belgium. It
140-612: The BBC to the Empire and local networks from RAF Hendon in north London on 17 October 1939. Among the entertainers appearing on the bill were Adelaide Hall , The Western Brothers and Mantovani . A newsreel of this concert showing Hall singing " We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line " accompanied by Mantovani and His Orchestra exists. Many members of ENSA later had careers in
160-681: The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes . In 1946 it was re-named to Combined Services Entertainment (CSE) operating under the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), until 2 March 2020, when the SSVC re-branded to the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), with the CSE likewise re-branding as BFBS Live Events . The first big wartime variety concert organised by ENSA was broadcast by
180-674: The German invasion of his homeland, he next played publicly after liberation in 1945 with the Allied military entertainment organisation , making his London debut later that year. In 1949 he was appointed professor of violin at the Brussels Conservatoire where he had once studied. He debuted in the United States in Boston in 1951, and toured the United States in the following year. In 1973 he
200-785: The Partita No. 3, is included on the Voyager Golden Record , attached to the Voyager spacecraft , as a sample of the culture of Earth. This recording was chosen by renowned scientist Carl Sagan . His 1969 recording of Alban Berg 's Violin Concerto with the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Igor Markevitch was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with or without orchestra) at
220-628: The age of eleven, when he graduated and moved to the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels to study violin. He variously has been described as having made his debut in Brussels at the age of 14, or in 1935, although his debut is more commonly said to have occurred in 1940. This performance was made in Belgium with the Brussels Philharmonic playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto . Due to
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#1732876314894240-454: The entertainment industry after the war, including actors Terry-Thomas , Peter Sellers and Kenneth Connor . Tap and acrobatic dancer Vivienne Hole, stage name Vivienne Fayre, a civilian aged 19, was the only ENSA member killed in the war. On 23 January 1945 in Normandy , she was being driven between shows as a passenger aboard a truck carrying stage scenery which strayed into a minefield. She
260-535: The late Eugene Fodor . The Guarneri family's history is partially uncertain. Anthony J. Guarnieri writes, "Giuseppe del Gesù and Peter of Venice may have been cousins rather than brothers, and Peter of Venice may have been the son of Peter of Mantua ." "Signor Giovanni de Piccolellis, in 1885, searched the archives at the church, San Donato, in Cremona for information on the Guarneri family. His findings, published 1886, in
280-472: The manuscript entitled "LIUTAI ANTICHI e MODERNI", and now available online in PDF format on Google Books clearly shows that Joseph Guarneri 'del Gesù' was the son of Gian Battista Guarneri, who was in fact the younger brother of Andrea Guarneri." Some of the world's most famous violinists, such as Niccolò Paganini , Jascha Heifetz and Yehudi Menuhin have preferred Guarneris to Stradivaris. The average Stradivari
300-513: Was "a master virtuoso who consistently refused to make a show of his technical prowess". Born to a working-class family in the Belgian town of Villers-Perwin , on 21 March 1921, Grumiaux was only three years old when his grandfather urged him to begin music studies. He entered the conservatoire in Charleroi at the age of six; the normal entry age was eleven. He studied violin and piano there until
320-500: Was buried with full military honours in Sittard War Cemetery. Despite many extremely talented entertainers working for ENSA, the organisation was necessarily spread thin over the vast area it had to cover. Thus many entertainments were substandard, and the popular translation of the acronym ENSA was "Every Night Something Awful" . ENSA plays a modest role in the film Love Story (1944) in which Margaret Lockwood stars as
340-510: Was created a baron by King Baudouin of Belgium for his services to music. He died of a sudden stroke in Brussels (Belgium) in 1986 at the age of 65. Grumiaux had a long-standing relationship with Philips Records , lasting more than 20 years, and recordings are available from them of him performing works by Handel , Bach , Vivaldi , Michael Haydn , Mozart , Beethoven , Schubert , Mendelssohn , Bruch , Tchaikovsky , Saint-Saëns , Lalo , Henryk Wieniawski , and Johan Svendsen . He
360-530: Was first held in 2008 under the name of "Bravo", In 2015, the competition was renamed in honour of Arthur Grumiaux, and is now called Concours International Arthur Grumiaux pour Jeunes Violonistes (International Arthur Grumiaux Competition for Young Violinists). ENSA The Entertainments National Service Association ( ENSA ) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II . ENSA operated as part of
380-444: Was given lifetime use. Arthur Grumiaux Baron Arthur Grumiaux ( French: [gʁymjo] ; 21 March 1921 – 16 October 1986) was a Belgian violinist , considered by some to have been "one of the few truly great violin virtuosi of the twentieth century". He has been noted for having a "consistently beautiful tone and flawless intonation". English music critic and broadcaster, Edward Greenfield wrote of him that he
400-570: Was part of the Grumiaux Trio for many years, an ensemble consisting of Grumiaux, violist Georges Janzer and cellist Eva Czako. They recorded for Philips during the 1960s through to the mid-1970s, until Czako's death in 1978. Their discography includes chamber music by Beethoven , Schubert , Brahms , Dvořák , Martinů and Mozart . In 1967 they recorded a highly-acclaimed interpretation of Mozart's String Trio in E-flat major, K. 563 for Philips that
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