|
Giuseppe Bernasconi of Varese (1814‑1891).
[from Wikipedia] The Bernasconi family was a famous dynasty of master organ builders, originating from Varese, active between 1847 and 1920. His works are located mainly in Lombardy and the Canton of Ticino (Switzerland). The Bernasconi family, of Varenese origins and Ticino ancestry, began to be interested in art of organ building at the beginning of the 19th century when the Giuseppe brothers(1814‑1891), Lorenzo(1822‑1890), Cesare(1829‑?) and Pietro(1834‑1895) began working in the organ builder's workshop from Varese Luigi Maroni in Biumo Inferiore, from whom they learned the secrets of the trade. From their father Felice, a shoemaker originally from the Bizzozero neighborhood of Varese, they had learned the art of working wood. After the death of Maroni Biroldi, in 1842, the Bernasconis took over the entire company, which was renamed "Fratelli Bernasconi" from 1847, under the direction of Giuseppe, the eldest son. The company was divided in 1854 when two independent companies were founded, the first with Giuseppe and Cesare associated, while the second with Lorenzo and Pietro together. In 1866 Cesare Bernasconi decided to found his own organ‑building company, split from his brother. In 1881, Giuseppe's company appeared at the Milan Music Exhibition with a list of 99 organs built by his company in only 34 years of activity. Giuseppe and Cesare's companies remained more closely linked to the dictates of the traditional Lombard organ from the 19th century (single keyboard, broken registers, wind boxes and handcuffs in Lombard style), while that of Lorenzo and Pietro and then that of Luigi, the latter's son, specialized in specimens of organs in accordance with the dictates of the caecilian reform(2 keyboards, entire registers, complete pedalboard, push buttons), considered technically more modern. In 1895 Giovanni Tebaldini published a list of seventy‑five Italian organs that, he said, They adhered perfectly to the new Caecilian dictates and, among them, included four built by the Bernasconi: two by Pietro (Como, S. Fedele, 1890 and Monastero Bormida)., S Giulia, 1892) and two by Cesare (Lucca, S. Maria a Colle, 1893 and Montichiari, S. Pancrazio, 1895). The Bernasconi dynasty of organ builders ended with Luigi, son of Pietro, who around 1920 sold the family business to the Balbiani company (already successfully active in the field of organ production), starting to work for the same company as an organ tuner. |
|
|
|
Site Map
Back
Parroquia de Nuestra Seņora de la Divina Providencia