David L. Fulton is a private collector of

Cremonese Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...

instruments. Born in 1944, he grew up in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, playing the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

from an early age. He studied

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, and was

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

of the University of Chicago Orchestra while he was there. Fulton performed professionally with the

Hartford Symphony Orchestra The Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO) is an American orchestra based in Hartford, Connecticut. Overview The orchestra presents more than 100 concerts annually to audiences numbering more than 110,000. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s extens ...

as a violinist. In 1970 he founded the Department of

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

, serving as Professor and Chairman for 10 years. While still at Bowling Green, he co-founded Fox Software, which ultimately gained international recognition for its database management application,

FoxPro FoxPro was a text-based procedurally oriented programming language and database management system (DBMS), and it was also an object-oriented programming language, originally published by Fox Software and later by Microsoft, for MS-DOS, Windows ...

. Following the sale of Fox Software to

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

in 1992, Dr. Fulton served as Microsoft’s Vice President for Database Products until his retirement in 1994. Fulton has produced several documentary films about violins and music. The first was ''Homage'' (2008), which won the 2009

Juno award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

as "Classical Album of the Year: Solo or Chamber Ensemble". The film features violinist

James Ehnes James Ehnes, (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian concert violinist and violist. Life and career Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes, long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey Ehnes, ...

performing on fourteen instruments from Fulton's collection. The second, ''Violin Masters: Two Gentlemen of Cremona'', (2010), narrated by

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...

and featuring renowned violinists James Ehnes,

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He plays the Gibson Stradivarius. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, to Shirley Bell, a therapist, and Alan P. Bell, a psychologis ...

Midori Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * M ...

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...

among others, examines the history and modern use of Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù violins.https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=violin%20masters%20two%20gentlemen%20of%20cremona&sprefix=violin+masters%2Caps%2C166&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aviolin%20masters%20two%20gentlemen%20of%20cremona ''Violin Masters'' won a 2012 Emmy in the "Documentary - Historical" category. The most recent film, ''Transcendence: A Meeting of Greats'', (2014), documents the sessions at which the

Miró Quartet The Miró Quartet is an internationally performing professional classical string quartet based in Austin, Texas. The group is the Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Texas and its members are on the faculty of the Butler School of Music. It ...

recorded Schubert's great String Quartet No. 15, in G Major, D. 887. This film was nominated for two 2014

Emmy awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in the Special Event Coverage category, winning Best Director in that category. In January 2022 Fulton published a book about his violin collection entitled ''The Fulton Collection - A Guided Tour''. This deluxe 1st edition volume is a large-format, linen-bound hardcover containing museum-quality photos, archival material, and first-hand recollections. The Fulton collection may be seen and heard on the book's associated website which features detailed high-definition video of the instruments being played and where the book may be ordered
/ Collection Book Website
David Fulton

Notable Instruments

Violins

Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', as well as the colloquia ...

'' La Pucelle'' 1709

"General Kyd, Perlman" 1714

Marsick 1715

"Baron d'Assignies" 1713

"Alba, Herzog, Coronation" 1719

"Sassoon" 1733

"Baron Knoop, Bevan" 1715

Guarneri del Gesù Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...

"King Joseph" 1737

"Stern, Panette, Balâtre, Alard" 1737

"Lord Wilton" 1742

"Haddock" 1734

"d'Egville" 1735

"Kemp, Emperor" 1738

"Carrodus" 1743
Pietro Guarneri, of Mantua "Shapiro" 1698
Carlo Bergonzi "Kreisler, Perlman" 1735(?)

Giovanni Battista Guadagnini Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (often shortened to G. B. Guadagnini; 23 June 1711 – 18 September 1786) was an Italian luthier, regarded as one of the finest craftsmen of string instruments in history. Reprint with new introduction by Stewart Pol ...

, Turin 1778
Violas

Andrea Guarneri Andrea Guarneri (1626; 1698, in Cremona) was an Italian luthier, musician and founder of the Casa Guarneri. He is the most important student of Nicola Amati and grandfather of one of the best luthiers, Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri, del Gesù. Bi ...

"Conte Vitale" 1676

Gasparo da Salò Gasparo da Salò (20 May 154214 April 1609) is the name given to Gasparo Bertolotti, one of the earliest violin makers and an expert double bass player. Around 80 of his instruments are known to have survived to the present day: violins (small ...

"Krasner, Kelley" c. 1580
Giuseppe Guadagnini "Wanamaker, Rolla" 1793

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

Girolamo Amati Girolamo Amati (1561–1630) was an Italian luthier, active from 1580 to 1630. Biography Born in Cremona, Girolamo was the youngest son of Andrea Amati and brother of Antonio Amati. Girolamo worked, probably from 1575, with his brother, in ...

, Cremona 1619
''Girolamo Amati (Hieronymus II or Girolamo Amati (II)'' 1703

Vincenzo Rugeri Vincenzo Rugeri (30 September 1663 – 4 May 1719) (also known as Ruger, Rugier, Rugieri, Ruggeri, Ruggieri, Ruggerius), was an Italian luthier of string instruments such as violins, cellos, and, violas in Cremona, Italy. His instruments are noted ...

, Cremona 1697
cellos

"Bass of Spain, Adam" 1713
Pietro Guarneri, of Venice "Beatrice Harrison" 1739

Montagnana Montagnana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Padova, in Veneto (northern Italy). Neighbouring communes are Borgo Veneto, Casale di Scodosia, Urbana, Bevilacqua, Pojana Maggiore, Pressana, Minerbe and Roveredo di Guà. , the popula ...

"George Gudgeon" 1737

Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...

"Messeas" 1731

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulton, David L. 1944 births Living people American collectors University of Chicago alumni Bowling Green State University faculty People from Eugene, Oregon