Igino Sderci

Making more than 700 instruments including many large violas, he won gold medals at the prestigious Stradivarius Exhibition at Cremona in 1937 marking the bicentenary of Stradivari's death (as well as prizes in 1949).

To Sderci’s good fortune, he did not serve in the war owing to circulatory problems in his legs, a lifelong condition.

Igino Sderci copied many models and created new designs and reflected their influence as his instruments are full of character and made with utmost care.

A very beautiful instrument made as a copy of Andrea Guarneri in 1924 label reads: "Iginius Sderci fece Siena l'anno 1924" Bisiach Family Heritage.

"As is known, after the death of the last great Cremonese Masters after the middle of the 18th century, only the Cerutis remained in Cremona to prevent that memorable tradition from dying out completely.

However the most important event for the renaissance of violin-making in Lombardy was certainly the meeting between Riccardo Antoniazzi and Leandro Bisiach; the latter, thanks to his talent, his taste and his business ability succeeded in founding, at the end of the 19th century, a workshop which soon gained international fame.

Bisiach was an outstanding figure in the commerce of antique violins but above all had the merit of raising a generation of great luthiers, among whom for example Sderci, Pietro Borghi, Giuseppe Ornati and Ferdinando Garimberti come to mind."