Dictionary of Makers

The brothers Lorenzo and Tomaso Carcassi were probably pupils of G.B. Gabbrielli, who was the leading violin maker in Florence in the mid-18th century. As was the case in England at that time, the predominant influence among the Florentine makers was Jacob Stainer. This was possibly due to the ascendancy of the Austrian Habsburgs as Grand Dukes ofTuscany. The instruments of the brothers Carcassi successfully combine a sometimes exaggerated but elegant Stainer-esque fhole (see the 1771 example, pp. 118-119) with an attractive and usually golden Italianate varnish (see the viola, pp. 120-121).

 

 

Although the brothers occasionally worked individually, the majority of their work bears their joint label.