Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (G. B. Guadagnini) (b. Piacenza, Italy, 1711; d. Italy, September 1786) was one of the greatest luthiers (makers of violins and other string instruments) in history. His violins are often referred to as "poor man's Strads" which alludes to the work of Antonio Stradivari, who is generally considered to be the greatest violin maker of all time. Guadagnini made violins (as well as violas, cellos, and probably other string instruments) from about 1729 until his death and his work is divided into four main periods corresponding to and named after the four cities in Italy where he lived and worked: Parma, Piacenza, Milan, and Turin. Of these, the instruments from his last period, Turin, are generally the best and most valuable. In fact, the somewhat disparaging nickname given above, "poor man's Strad," hardly seems applicable in modern times now that some of his instruments have reached sale prices as high as one million dollars. Nevertheless, with sales of Stradivari's violins occasionally topping five million dollars, the comparison is still valid.
Giovanni's father, Lorenzo, his son, Giuseppe, as well as some other members of the Guadagnini family continued in the line of violin making through several generations. Of these, Lorenzo is considered the second best and Giuseppe is the third.
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Performers using Guadagnini instruments
- Violinists
- Willy Hess (1859-1939) was the owner of a Guadagnini made in the 1740s.
- David Juritz plays a Guadagnini violin made c. 1748.
- Ukrainian violinist Mikhail Kopelman owns a 1773 Guadagnini.
- Polish violinist Piotr Plawner plays a 1772 Guadagnini.
- Alaska-based violinist Linda Rosenthal plays a Guadagnini made in Turin in 1772.
- Canadian-born violinist Lara St. John performs on the 1779 "Salabue" Guadagnini violin, which she calls "the Resurrection."
- Fijian-born violinist Wilma Smith plays a 1761 Guadagnini.
- Vanessa-Mae plays a 1761 Guadagnini.
- Violists
- University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point viola professor Dee Martz performs on the 1773 "Cozio" Guadagnini viola, which is on loan from the Copernicus Cultural Foundation.
- Cellists
- Austrian cellist Martin Hornstein (b. 1954) plays the "ex van Zweygberg" cello, built in Piacenza in 1743 by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini; his instrument is on loan from the instrument collection of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank.
- English cellist Natalie Clein plays the "Simpson" Guadagnini cello (1777).
- Finnish cellist Pekka Kuusisto plays a 1752 Guadagnini cello.
- Gilberto Munguia plays a 1748 Guadagnini cello.
- Maxine Neuman plays a 1772 Guadagnini cello.
- Jamie Walton plays a Guadagnini cello of 1765.
- Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey plays a 1760 Guadagnini cello.
- Double bass players
- University of North Texas double bass professor Jeff Bradetich plays a double bass that is believed to have been made by Guadagnini in 1767.