Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (23 Jun 1711—18 Sept 1786) was an Italian luthier, one of the greatest makers of violins and cellos in history after Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) and Giuseppe del Gesù Guarneri (1698–1744). The least sedentary of his generation, G.B. Guadagnini worked in four different Italian regions throughout his 44yrs-career, and each residency notably impacted his oeuvre.

Guadagnini’s origins are still unconfirmed. He likely grew up around Piacenza province and was self-taught or apprenticed with an unknown master. (Several of the luthier’s early labels read ’filius Laurentij’ (son of Laurentio)—common dedication among family-taught luthiers. However, there’s no reliable evidence that his father, Lorenzo Guadagnini (1685–c.1746), an innkeeper by trade, was ever involved in luthiery.) Giambattista began making violins around 1740 in Piacenza and made first violoncellos in 1743–’44, perhaps encouraged by his close friend, an aspiring cellist and composer Carlo Ferrari (1714–1790).

In 1749, Guadagnini moved to Milan. With an ample supply of premium wood, he built over 100 finest violins in the next nine years, varnished in luminescent deep-red. Luthier gained a solid reputation, with his instruments praised for reliability, ergonomics, and superb tonal qualities.

In 1758, G.B. Guadagnini relocated to Parma—following Carlo Ferrari, who earlier received the Duchy of Parma’s appointment. Most curiously, at least a dozen violins from that year bear ’Joannes Baptista Guadagnini Cremonenſis’ labels—now claiming Cremona as the luthier’s hometown. (It might’ve been an attempt to strengthen his brand by claiming a nobler, statelier pedigree.) Very soon, Guadagnini was himself employed by Duchy of Parma, adopting ’C.S.R.,’ a monogram for His Serene Royal Highness, into his labels. Even with an inferior wild ’oppio’ maple wood available, Guadagnini excelled in Parma. In 1765, however, Duke Philip died unexpectedly; Giambattista had his court’s annual stipend massively cut and lost many customers, as mandatory mourning paralyzed the regional music scene. By the late 1760s, G.B. Guadagnini was on the verge of bankruptcy. Researchers uncovered his eldest son, Gaetano Francesco Lorenzo (1750–1817), missing from Parma’s 1771 church census. (The assumption is that year, Gaetano traveled around Italy scouting for a new location). In the summer of 1771, after receiving Duchy’s permission and a severance package, the Guadagnini family left Parma.

Turin, where Giovanni headed, was an excellent strategic choice—hometown and royal seat of King of Sardinia, Charles Emmanuel III, had a flourishing musical scene but an evident shortage of luthiers. However, in kafkaesque coincidence, the reigning King died in 1773. An even more prolonged, extensive mournings ensued, and once again, demand for musical instruments in Turin largely fizzled out. In 1774, Guadagnini befriended young count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue (1755–1840). Cozio, who had a lifelong passion for luthiery, just purchased the Stradivari workshop in Cremona from Antonio’s youngest son, Paolo Stradivari (1708–1776): all tools, molds, technical drawings, a few priceless violins. The count saw an excellent opportunity to collaborate with Guadagnini, an avid Stradivarius aficionado, and offered him a contract. Cozio provided premium aged wood and once-in-a-lifetime access to the legendary Strad toolkit and archives. In return, Giuseppe built over 50 instruments for Cozio di Salabue between 1774 and ’79.

However, the relationship significantly deteriorated, and they eventually stopped working together. The later correspondence reveals that Cozio wanted Guadagnini to produce perfect Strad’s replicas, but the coarse and ignorant, obdurate in opinion luthier kept building original designs and insisted on taking full credits. Perhaps pressured by frustrated count, Guadagnini adopted Joannes Baptista Guadagnini Cremonenſis fecit Taurini alumnus Antonii Stradivari label—at least sharing the authorship. (In the late XIX century, when biographers weren’t shy to fill the blanks in reliable sources with eloquent fiction, this hoax worked exceptionally well. Confirmed by Guadagnini’s earlier mystifying Cremonensis and ’Filius Laurentij’ labels, their ludicrous story now claimed Lorenzo, Stradivari’s pupil, taught Giambattista luthiery in Cremona. Numerous instruments by Lorenzo Guadagnini offered as missing links in this narrative all turned out misattributed).

Three of Guadagnini’s sons became prominent luthiers, also excelling in making guitars and mandolins: Gaetano Francesco Lorenzo I (1750–1817), Giuseppe Antonio Santo I (1753–1805), and Carlo Pietro Antonio (1768–1816). The family lineage went for over 250 years, ending at Giuseppe’s triple-great-grandson, Paolo Guadagnini (1908–1942).

Posthumous recognition
Guadagnini’s instruments, especially from Milan and Turin, grew tremendously over the years, both in monetary value and performers’ appreciation. With rare exceptions, any Guadagnini violin or cello trade in the $180,000-$320,000 range. Current records, both from 2018 auctions, stand at $2,106,000 for a violin and $2,460,000 for a cello.

A few notable ’G.B. Guadagnini’ performers include:

? Arthur Grumiaux, 1752 violin
? Henri Vieuxtemps and Carl Flesch, c.1750 violin
? Eugène Ysaÿe, 1774
? Henri Temianka, 1752 ’after P.Guarnerius’ model
? Henryk Wieniawski, 1750
? Jascha Heifetz, 1741 ’fecit Piacenza’ violin
? Joseph Joachim, 1767 Parma
? Riccardo Brengola and Pavel Vernikov, 1747 ’Crespi’ fecit Piacenza (stolen in Dec 2016, est. $1.5mln value)
? Vanessa-Mae, 1761 ’Gizmo’ violin
? Manfred Leverkus played 1752 ’ex-Kneisel,’ stolen in 2006
℣ Li-Kuo Chang plays c.1768 ’ex-Vieuxtemps’ viola, Parma
℣ Geraldine Walther plays 1774 ’fecit Turin’ viola
? Natalie Clein plays 1777 ’Simpson’ Guadagnini cello
? David Geringas, 1761 cello
? Maxine Neuman, 1772
? Han-Na Chang, 1757, Milan
? Saša Večtomov, 1754, Milan
? Carter Brey, the New York Philharmonic’s principal, plays 1754 ’fecit Milan’ cello
? Gilberto Munguia, 1748
? Sol Gabetta, 1759