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Braimah Kanneh-Mason: Stringing it together

Concert violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason travels to Cremona, the Italian city where the Stradivarius was born, and discovers how luthier Daniele Tonarelli crafts his instruments.

Welcome to Cremona - city of the violin. These Italian streets are brimming with horse hairs, varnish and chiselled wood. The central square is lined with storefronts displaying beautifully handcrafted wooden instruments. Braimah Kanneh-Mason, concert violinist and member of the musically gifted Kanneh-Mason family, travels to where the Stradivarius was born. Braimah learns about the techniques used to replicate the world鈥檚 most famous stringed instruments in the workshop of world-class violin maker Daniele Tonarelli. It was in Cremona, 500 years ago, that Andrea Amati was credited with inventing the 鈥渕odern鈥 violin. In his footsteps came the likes of Nicola Amati, Guarneri 鈥渄el Ges霉鈥 and, most famously, Antonio Stradivari, who all perfected their craft in this northern Italian city. Daniele is the latest in a long line of Cremonese luthiers. Braimah gets a taste of the age old recipe that created these musical masterpieces hundreds of years ago. It is still used today. Daniele shows Braimah his newest violin 鈥 just 20 days old. How does this youthful instrument feel in the young violinist鈥檚 hands, and 鈥 more importantly 鈥 how does it sound? Are today鈥檚 Cremonese luthiers living up to the legacy the great violin makers left behind?

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31 minutes

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