Raffaele Riva
Raffaele Riva
Raffaele Riva is one of the essential Italian violin makers of the 20th century. He began his career in 1906, at just 16 years old, and quickly became known for his outstanding artistry and innovation.
Achievements of Raffaele Riva
- The first important violin to be built by Riva, and his work is the first one of his prewar series. The tenor bow and the shape of the scrolls have been key features in his chronology and interpretation of violin making.
- Raffaele Riva has done some interesting experiments with bow weight and design, which he considers very important. A good example is his “Riva-Rigatti” bow, with rounder tips, which also helps make a good sound for the strings.
- Aside from this, Riva was also known for his interpretations of Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù and the violin he made in 1931, the “Settecento.”
- He has made many vital violins that the best artists still play. He also made an essential contribution to the field of restoration, which he considered an equally important discipline as that of making a violin. His restoration work includes many of Stradivari’s violins and Guarneri del Gesù’s violins.
- A brilliant player and a man of remarkable culture, Riva was a banker and a concert-master of the Philharmonic Orchestra in Genoa at the beginning of the 20th century. He was also a professor at the Genoese Conservatory.
- Raffaele Riva is credited with having rebuilt much of the Violin repertoire for Italy; he wrote many beautiful violin concertos, some based on Guarneri del Gesù sonatas and some with original inspirations. He wrote six concertos himself, some of which are still played.
- He received the gold medal of Saint Louis Exposition in 1904 and the title “Artist of the Decade” at the Milan Triennial Exhibition in 1911, his only one.
- He was an exceptional violin maker who attracted followers and pupils throughout his career; among them, several well-known artists such as Agostino del Bonis (1908) and Ruggero Servidei (1910). His most famous pupils are Ruggero Scherga (1966-1970) and Luca Mazzolani. See related link for more information.
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