This Week in Classical Music: June 2, 2025. Cremona. In our latest Italian travels, we encountered several musically important cities, and Cremona is one of them.Cremona is somewhat unusual in this respect.As a rule, music flourished at the courts of the powerful dukes, as it did in the neighboring Mantua under the Gonzagas.Cremona never had a prince: during its long and turbulent history, it fought many enemies, belonged to different parties (the Guelfs, the supporters of the Pope, and sometimes to the Ghibellines, the allies of the Holy Roman Emperor) and at different times was occupied by the Duchy of Milan, the Genovese Republic, the French and the Spanish.And for a while, it was an independent commune, led by Capitano del Popolo.One thing it never had was a substantial court.Therefore, music-making was concentrated at the Cathedral, the Duomo.We must say that the Duomo is magnificent, one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Northern Italy.Next to the Duomo stands the Torrazzo, the tallest pre-modern campanile (bell tower) in Italy and Cremona’s symbol.On the other side is the Baptistry.The cathedral was originally built in the 12th century in the then-current Romanesque style but was enlarged in the subsequent centuries, acquiring many Renaissance elements.It’s decorated with many wonderful sculptures, some dating back to the 12th century.The Torrazzo has 500 steps, and if you brave them, you’ll be rewarded with a wonderful view from the top.
Marc'Antonio Ingegneriwas the most important composer to serve as the Maestro di Cappella at the Duomo, though we should also mention the Bishop, Nicolò Sfondrato, later Pope Gregory XIV, who was instrumental in promoting music and arts in the city.Ingegneri was born in Verona sometime around 1535 and moved to Cremona in the late 1560s.This was the time of the Counter-Reformation, and one of the conditions imposed by the Council of Trent, which produced the Counter-Reformation program, was that the words in Latin masses had to be legible.This, as we know, almost killed the polyphonic mass, which survived thanks to Palestrina’s mastery.Ingegneri worked in the style of Palestrina (some of his work was even attributed, incorrectly, to the great Roman).Here’s Ingegneri’s Salve Regina, performed by the Choir of Girton College, Cambridge, Gareth Wilson conducting.
But of course, the real fame was brought to Cremona by its luthiers: Cremona is rightfully considered the birthplace of the modern violin.The instruments made by the Amati family, Antonio Stradivari, and Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri in the late 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries are still considered nonpareil.All of the Cremonese violin makers learned from each other: both Stradivari and Guarneri were pupils of Nicolò Amati, who in turn apprenticed with his father, Girolamo Amati.Girolamo’s father, Andrea Amati, born in 1505, is considered the first master to make a modern violin.
Cremona has a wonderful Museo del Violino (Violin Museum).It has a section dedicated to the history of string instruments and one on violin-making.All of it is done in good taste.But the most important part is the beautiful hall displaying rare instruments by the Amati family, Stradivari and Guarneri (there are other rooms with hundreds of instruments, some very important, for example, from the luthiers like Francesco Rugeri and Carlo Bergonzi).The museum has a small but beautiful auditorium, where several times a month the magnificent instruments from the museum’s collection are showcased by young musicians.For a small fee, anybody can come and listen.And clearly, the violin-making is still flourishing in Cremona: as you walk the streets of the city, you encounter many luthiers’ shops, some of them well-known around the world.
Cremona, 2025
This Week in Classical Music: June 2, 2025. Cremona. In our latest Italian travels, we encountered several musically important cities, and Cremona is one of them. Cremona is somewhat unusual in this respect. As a rule, music flourished at the courts of the powerful dukes,
as it did in the neighboring Mantua under the Gonzagas. Cremona never had a prince: during its long and turbulent history, it fought many enemies, belonged to different parties (the Guelfs, the supporters of the Pope, and sometimes to the Ghibellines, the allies of the Holy Roman Emperor) and at different times was occupied by the Duchy of Milan, the Genovese Republic, the French and the Spanish. And for a while, it was an independent commune, led by Capitano del Popolo. One thing it never had was a substantial court. Therefore, music-making was concentrated at the Cathedral, the Duomo. We must say that the Duomo is magnificent, one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Northern Italy. Next to the Duomo stands the Torrazzo, the tallest pre-modern campanile (bell tower) in Italy and Cremona’s symbol. On the other side is the Baptistry. The cathedral was originally built in the 12th century in the then-current Romanesque style but was enlarged in the subsequent centuries, acquiring many Renaissance elements. It’s decorated with many wonderful sculptures, some dating back to the 12th century. The Torrazzo has 500 steps, and if you brave them, you’ll be rewarded with a wonderful view from the top.
Marc'Antonio Ingegneri was the most important composer to serve as the Maestro di Cappella at the Duomo, though we should also mention the Bishop, Nicolò Sfondrato, later Pope Gregory XIV, who was instrumental in promoting music and arts in the city. Ingegneri was born in Verona sometime around 1535 and moved to Cremona in the late 1560s. This was the time of the Counter-Reformation, and one of the conditions imposed by the Council of Trent, which produced the Counter-Reformation program, was that the words in Latin masses had to be legible. This, as we know, almost killed the polyphonic mass, which survived thanks to Palestrina’s mastery. Ingegneri worked in the style of Palestrina (some of his work was even attributed, incorrectly, to the great Roman). Here’s Ingegneri’s Salve Regina, performed by the Choir of Girton College, Cambridge, Gareth Wilson conducting.
But of course, the real fame was brought to Cremona by its luthiers: Cremona is rightfully considered the birthplace of the modern violin. The instruments made by the Amati family, Antonio Stradivari, and Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri in the late 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries are still considered nonpareil. All of the Cremonese violin makers learned from each other: both Stradivari and Guarneri were pupils of Nicolò Amati, who in turn apprenticed with his father, Girolamo Amati. Girolamo’s father, Andrea Amati, born in 1505, is considered the first master to make a modern violin.
Cremona has a wonderful Museo del Violino (Violin Museum). It has a section dedicated to the history of string instruments and one on violin-making. All of it is done in good taste. But the most important part is the beautiful hall displaying rare instruments by the Amati family, Stradivari and Guarneri (there are other rooms with hundreds of instruments, some very important, for example, from the luthiers like Francesco Rugeri and Carlo Bergonzi). The museum has a small but beautiful auditorium, where several times a month the magnificent instruments from the museum’s collection are showcased by young musicians. For a small fee, anybody can come and listen. And clearly, the violin-making is still flourishing in Cremona: as you walk the streets of the city, you encounter many luthiers’ shops, some of them well-known around the world.