Simone Fernando Sacconi (May 30, 1895 in Rome – June 26, 1973 in Point Lookout) was an expert Italian violin maker and restorer who studied fellow ''

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

'' Antonio Stradivari extensively during his lifetime. "While still at school he became a workshop assistant to Giuseppe Rossi, a pupil of Degani. By the time he was 16, Sacconi already had his own clientele, and a particular ability as a maker of copies. In 1931 he moved to New York to work for the dealer Emil Herrmann. He continued to make new instruments – and occasionally bows – but his time there was mainly taken up with repairs and restoration work. In this field he had no equal, an example of his work being a Stradivari of the best period, virtually destroyed in an accident in 1948, which now shows no sign of having suffered. In the imitation of old Italian varnish he excelled all rivals. In 1951, upon the invitation of Rembert Wurlitzer, Sacconi went with his pupil D’Attili to work for

Rembert Wurlitzer Co. Rembert Wurlitzer Co. was a distinguished firm in New York City that specialized in fine musical instruments and bows. Founded in Europe in 1856, the Wurlitzer Co. was a world-famous musical instrument company known for its many ateliers in the Un ...

A first-class workshop was built up and many of the best American repairers were trained in it. In his last years he spent much time teaching in

Cremona 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 th ...

, Italy, and published ''I segreti di Stradivari'' (Cremona, 1972), setting out in detail Stradivari’s working methods." -

Charles Beare Charles Beare (born 1937) is a British violin expert, craftsman and dealer. In 2001, the ''New York Times'' described Beare as "the most esteemed authenticator in the world." In 2002, CNN characterized him as the "world's most respected violin deal ...

His constant experiments with varnish was almost an obsession. He was one of the principal organizers of the Stradivari Bicentennial Exhibition in Cremona in 1937. Sacconi won gold medal for a quartet of instruments. In 1972, he was bestowed honorary citizenship by Cremona (the highest honor). In 2012, nine of Sacconi's medals were discovered shortly before they were due to be melted down. Of the medals, one was awarded to Sacconi by his pupils, and is engraved with their names; Segal, Esposti, Zambelli and Bissolotti. Also found was the medal awarded by the City of Cremona, medals marking the bicentennial of the death of Stradivarius, and two wartime medals, awarded for service during World War I. Sacconi has directly influenced several generations of makers/restorers:

, Max Moller, Pierre Vidoudez
Dario D'Attili

Hans Weisshaar Hans Weisshaar (Wildberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, August 25, 1913 - Los Angeles, June 24, 1991) was an important American violin restorer. He worked in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands before coming to the United States in 1937, whe ...

, Jacques Francais, Frank Passa, Bernard Millant, Mario F. D'Alessandro, Harry Duffy, René Morel, William Salchow, Hans Nebel, Roland Felle
Vahakn Nigogosian
C. Ray Ferguson, Carlos Arcieri
David Segal

Carleen M. Hutchins Carleen Maley Hutchins (May 24, 1911 – August 7, 2009) was an American high school science teacher, violinmaker and researcher, best known for her creation, in the 1950s/60s, of a family of eight proportionally-sized violins now known as th ...

Francesco Bissolotti
William J. Huggler, Ronald J. Huggler , James Reynold Carlisle. Through his disciples (such as Jacques Francais / René Morel), he has influenced makers/restorers such as Samuel Zygmuntowicz, Horacio Piñeiro, Boris Sverdlik, Jerry Pasewicz, Bogaslaw Kieta, David T. Van Zandt, Andrew Dipper, James N. McKean, Christophe Landon, Richard Oppelt, Jonathan Woolston (UK) & from the shop of Hans Weisshaar came Otto Karl Schenk
David Burgess
Tom Wilder, Andreas Mages (Germany), Bruce Carlson (Italy), Wendy and Peter Moes to name a few. Many celebrated musicians came to him for advice and entrusted him with their precious instruments when they needed attention. List includes Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin,

Salvatore Accardo Salvatore Accardo (; Knight Grand Cross born 26 September 1941 in Turin, northern Italy) is an Italian violinist and conductor, who is known for his interpretations of the works of Niccolò Paganini. Accardo owns one Stradivarius violin, the "Ha ...

Pina Carmirelli Pina Carmirelli (23 January 1914 in Varzi – 27 February 1993 in Capena) was an Italian violinist. She started studying music and playing in public when she was very young. She was a pupil of Michelangelo Abbado, and graduated from the Mila ...

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

, Paul Doktor, Pierre Fournier,

Zino Francescatti René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti (August 9, 1902 – September 17, 1991) was a French virtuoso violinist. Zino Francescatti was born in Marseilles, to a musical family. Both parents were violinists. His father, who also played the cello, had stu ...

Joseph Fuchs Joseph Philip Fuchs (April 26, 1899 or 1900 – March 14, 1997) was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs. Born in New York, he graduated in 1918 from the Institute of M ...

Raya Garbousova Raya Garbousova (russian: Ра́я Га́рбузова; September 25, 1909Alternative dates appear in the literature. The ''New Grove'' has September 25, 1906, and ''Baker's Dictionary'' has October 10, 1905. Raya Garbousova herself claimed to ...

Carlo Maria Giulini Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserva ...

Bruno Giuranna Bruno Giuranna (born 6 April 1933 in Milan) is an Italian violist. Giuranna was also responsible for a transcription of Bach's Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'', BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Se ...

Franco GulliCharles Libove

Erica Morini Erika Morini Siracusano (January 5, 1904 – October 31 or November 1, 1995) was a Jewish Austrian violinist. Early life and family Morini was born in Vienna, and received her first instruction from her father, Oscar Morini (originally spelled ...

André Navarra André-Nicolas Navarra (Biarritz, 13 October 1911 – Siena, 31 July 1988) was a French cellist and cello teacher. Early life He was born into a musical family in Biarritz, his father being a bassist of Italian descent."'Play From The Stomach, ...

, Ruggiero Ricci,

Leonard Rose Leonard Joseph Rose (July 27, 1918 – November 16, 1984) was an American cellist and pedagogue. Biography Rose was born in Washington, D.C.; his parents were Jewish immigrants, his father from Bragin, Belarus, and his mother from Kyiv, ...

, Toby Saks, Alexander Schneider,

Janos Starker János or Janos may refer to: * János, male Hungarian given name, a variant of John Places * Janos Municipality, a municipality of Chihuahua ** Janos, Chihuahua, town in Mexico ** Janos Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve in Chihuahua * Janos ...

, Henryk Szeryng, Efrem Zimbalist, Felix Salmond, and Uto Ughi were just some of the top musicians who either purchased or had their treasured instruments maintained by him. His main publication was
'I segreti di Stradivari'
', translated into many languages and sold worldwide. "Simone Sacconi is recognized as one of the important contemporary violin makers. His book explains the construction techniques used by Stradivari with clarity and precision. It is considered an indispensable reference for both the professional and novice violin maker." - Eric Blot "Sacconi was described as a "Hero of the art of violinmaking". - Andrea MosconiSACCONI,SIMONE FERNANDO - MOSCONI,ANDREA. Simone Fernando Sacconi. Centenary celebration nel centenario della nascita. Cremona, 1995. "Every detail absorbed his complete attention" - Carlos Arcieri "Described by many expert artisans as an exalted beacon of contemporary restorers and conservators" "....one of the greatest violin maker and restorers of our time, Simone Fernando Sacconi." - W. Zambelli https://www.violiniincremona.it/ Simone Fernando Sacconi in the testimony of Wanna Zambelli https://www.violiniincremona.it/articoli/zambelli-e-sacconi "Fernando" was a man of many interests: He was a superb photographer, avid salt water fisherman, musician, small game hunter, mushroom researcher, epicurean and wonderful friend and neighbor.

References

Further reading