Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) was a Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos. He was active between 1685–1735 and was the founder of the "Venetian School" of luthiers,[1] during a time when Venice was one of the most important centers of musical activity in the world.
Although it is known that Goffriller was born in Brixen, little else is known of him prior to 1685 in Venice. Goffriller arrived in Venice in 1685 to work for luthier Martin Kaiser (Caiser).[2] In 1685 he married Martin Kaiser's daughter Maddalena Maria Kaiser (Caiser), at the Madonna delle Grazie in Venice; they had twelve children (five boys and seven girls) in 26 years. Francesco Goffriller, long thought to be his brother, is now known to have been his son.[3]
He was the founder of the "Venetian School" of luthiers, when Venice was one of the most important centers of musical activity in the world, and is believed to have taught luthiers Domenico Montagnana and Francesco Gobetti in addition to his son Francesco. After arriving in Venice, he is noted for being the city's sole violin and cello maker for some 25 years, between 1685 and 1710.[4]
He died in Venice in 1742.
Goffriller's cellos had been erroneously attributed in the past to the Guarneri family, Carlo Bergonzi or even Antonio Stradivari and were virtually unknown until the 1920s, when they began to be discovered. The 1733 Goffriller cello once owned by Pablo Casals was originally attributed to Bergonzi. His earliest authenticated instrument is a viola da gamba dated 1689.
The standard label for a Goffriller instrument, whether genuine or forged, uses the Latin inscription Mattheus Goffriller Fece in Venezia Anno [date], identifying maker, city (Venice) and year made; the date is either printed or handwritten. But he actually labeled only a small percentage of the instruments in order to avoid paying Venetian taxes.
Pablo Casals's Goffriller 1733 cello was his main concert instrument for most of his professional life. He acquired it in 1913 and played it until his death in 1973. Since 2000, winners of the International Pablo Casals Cello Competition in Kronberg, Germany may use it for two years.[5] Terence Weil played another Goffriller used by Casals before the one he played between 1913 and 1973.[6]
Other notable musicians who have used Goffriller instruments include:
| Sobriquet | Year | Provenance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goffriller violin | 1695 | currently played by Andrej Power | |
| Sammons | 1696 | Kenneth Sillito[7] | currently played by Beth Hafter |
| Goffriller violin | 1700 | ex-Stopak | currently played by Aaron Boyd[8] |
| Goffriller violin | 1700 | played by Alexander Yudkovsky since 2008 | |
| Goffriller violin | ca. 1700 | Stradivari Society | played by Michala Høj[9] |
| ex-Sivori; ex-Lalo | 1700 | ||
| Goffriller violin | 1700 | played on by Jorja Fleezanis | |
| Goffriller violin | 1700 | played on by Fanny Clamagirand | |
| Goffriller violin | 1702 | played by Jaakko Kuusis | |
| Goffriller violin | 1708 | played by Jennifer Pike | |
| Goffriller violin | ca. 1720 | Alan Parmenter | purchased in 2008 by an anonymous benefactor |
| Goffriller violin | 1720 | played- by Yuri Torchinsky | |
| Goffriller violin | 1722 | stolen from violinist Charmian Gadd in 1999, subsequently recovered[10] | |
| Goffriller Violin | 1723 | played by Amanda Favier since 1996 | |
| Goffriller Violin | 1730 | ||
| Sobriquet | Year | Provenance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goffriller viola | 1727 | ex-Walter Trampler | measures 41 cm; currently played by Richard O'Neill[11] |
| Goffriller viola | 1700 | Rachel Barton Pine Foundation instrument loan | currently played by Emad Zolfaghari[12] |
| Sobriquet | Year | Provenance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goffriller cello | 1689 | Mischa Maisky | currently played by Sevak Avanesyan |
| Goffriller cello | 1690 | previously Sabatier, Axelrod, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra | labeled: Nicolas Amatus, previously played by Maria Kliegel[13] |
| Goffriller cello | ca. 1700 | Antonio Meneses | |
| Goffriller cello | 1693 | ex-Leonard Rose; ex-Alfredo Piatti | on loan to Leonard Elschenbroich |
| Goffriller cello | 1693 | labeled "Carlo Bergonzi" | currently played by Bruno Philippe |
| Goffriller cello | 1693 | Previously owned and played by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet | features a carved Rosette on the top, under the fingerboard; currently played by Zuill Bailey |
| Goffriller cello | 1695 | played by Anner Bylsma | |
| Count Marcello | 1697 | Nicholas Anderson; Count Girolamo Marcello; Aldo Pais of Venice; Irving Klein[14] | |
| Rosette | 1698 | Leslie Parnas | features a carved rosette decoration |
| Goffriller cello | 1698 | played by Andres Diaz | |
| Goffriller cello | 1698 | exhibited at the Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria | |
| D'Archambeau | ca. 1700 | Iwan D'Archambeau | played by Jonathan Miller of the Gramercy Trio, Boston Artists Ensemble, and formerly[15] Boston Symphony Orchestra |
| Goffriller cello | 1700 | Ex-Amadeus Quartet | played by Christian-Pierre La Marca |
| Goffriller cello | 1701 | played by Gautier Capuçon | |
| Garbousova | 1703 | Karl Fruh; Raya Garbousova (1930–1951) | |
| Comte de Gabriac | 1703 | played by Trey Lee | |
| The Star | 1705 | Janos Starker (1965)[16] | |
| ex-Warburg | 1706 | played by François Kieffer (Modigliani Quartet) | |
| Goffriller cello | 1707 | Previously Hershel Gorodetzky (now Gordon), The Philadelphia Orchestra & Stringart Quartet. | played by Eric Kim |
| Goffriller cello | 1708 | Istituto della Pietà, Venice | |
| Goffriller cello | 1710 | played by Matt Haimovitz | |
| Goffriller cello | 1710 | played by Anthony Ross, principal cello, Minnesota Orchestra | |
| Goffriller cello | 1710 | played by Richard Hirschl, cellist, Chicago Symphony Orchestra | |
| Goffriller cello | 1710 | played by Xavier Phillips, French cellist | |
| Goffriller cello | 1710 | played by Alban Gerhardt, German cellist | |
| Goffriller cello | 1711 | played by Marc Coppey | |
| Goffriller cello | 1712 | Played by Christoph Croisé | |
| Goffriller cello | 1715 | Samsung Foundation of Culture | played by Sara Sant'Ambrogio |
| Goffriller cello | 1715 | Stradivari Society | |
| Goffriller cello | 1717 | Played by Marie Hallynck[17] | |
| Goffriller cello | 1720 | Emanuel Feuermann | played by Joseph Schuster |
| Goffriller cello | 1720 | played by Bruno Delepelaire | |
| Goffriller cello | 1720 | "ex-Lederlin" | currently played by David Delacroix |
| Goffriller cello | 1722 | Yo-Yo Ma | played by Valentin Erben |
| Gofriller cello | 1723 | ex-Piatti | played by Arkady Orlovsky principal cello, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra |
| Goffriller cello | 1722 | played by Pierre Fournier | |
| ex-Cossmann | 1726 | played by Carl Fuchs, Jenska Slebos; once thought to be a Bergonzi.[18] | |
| Saphir; ex-Harvey Shapiro | 1727 | currently played by Daniel Müller-Schott | |
| Goffriller cello | 1728 | Samuel Mayes | currently played by Timothy Eddy |
| Goffriller cello | 1730-1735 | “Maddalena” | currently owned and played by Robert deMaine |
| Gorrfiller cello | 1730 | Johannes Goritzki | currently played by Johannes Goritzki |
| Guffy | 1730 | Johann Sebastian Paetsch | played by Gunther Paetsch (1970–1985) |
| ex-Pablo Casals | 1733 | Currently played by Amit Peled; played by Matt Haimovitz; played by Anne Gastinel; played by Claudio Bohorquez.[19] | |
| Goffriller cello | 1734 | Nippon Violin | currently played by Yuki Ito |
| Goffriller cello | 1735 | Hermann Busch | currently played by Matthias Naegele |