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Anqi Ni

Cremona, Italy

Anqi Ni is a violin maker based in Cremona, Italy. In 2019 she established her workshop “Laboratorio Violintecture” near Piazza Roma, at the historical center of Cremona. Anqi Ni is a violin maker based in Cremona... Read more

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Maker Background

Anqi Ni is a violin maker based in Cremona, Italy. In 2019 she established her workshop “Laboratorio Violintecture” near Piazza Roma, at the historical center of Cremona.

Anqi Ni is a violin maker based in Cremona, Italy. In 2019 she established her workshop “Laboratorio Violintecture” near Piazza Roma, at the historical center of Cremona, where she concentrates on the construction of fine string instruments in modern style. Her philosophy in violin making is deeply influenced by her previous training as architect, and essentially motivated by the passion for music. She believes that in the art of violin making, as in Architecture, the ultimate goal is to seek harmony among one’s sense of the world and existence – and this is where Truth and Beauty stand.

Anqi Ni is a violin maker based in Cremona, Italy. In 2019 she established her workshop “Laboratorio Violintecture” near Piazza Roma, at the historical center of Cremona, where she concentrates on the construction of fine string instruments in modern style. She graduated from Academia Cremonensis with the guidance of Maestro Giovanni Colonna, by whom she was invited back in 2021 to join the faculty as a teacher for artistic and experimental workshops. Before graduation, she already began further studies with Maestro Gregg Alf, then she became a collaborative luthier in Alf Studios in Venice during the years of 2019 - 2022. This experience strongly formed her concept for violin sound and playability, searching into its most sensitive and colorful nuances. She also attended various master classes: by Maestro Luca Maria Gallo on varnish techniques in Cremona; by Maestro Carlos Arcieri on set-up at Accademia Perosi in Biella, Piemont; and by Maestro Robin Aitchison on cello sound adjustment in Bilbao, Spain. She has been a member of VSA (Violin society of America) since 2020 and an active attendee of Oberlin Acoustics First Friday Series. Since 2024 she has been a member of A.L.I. (Associazione Liutaria Italiana). Continuation in the exchange and sharing with some of the best contemporary makers nourishes her pursuit in the understanding of the aesthetics of Italian lutherie tradition in innovative lens.

In Their Own Words

A Conversation

Q: What famous people play your instruments?

My violin made in 2019 is in private collection in New York City, U.S.A., and on loan to Classically Connected Inc. (previously known as SI-YO Music Society Foundation).

Q: Why did you start making instruments?

It begins with the combination of two passions: the love for Music and the wish to construct through tangible crafts. My instruments are created with similar attitude to that of an architect, with an awareness of the connection between human hands and the Cosmos, with both vigorous and delicate balances between scientific studies and artistic understanding. Yet in violin making there lies another opportunity: the visualization of sound, so as to get close to the essence of music. I am aware of the responsibility in my work: to be the bridge to music and to humanity, and will be transmitted through generations. The approaches are different than those of a musician, but are of a similar destination.

Q: Why your instruments are so special?

In my work I always seek to bring out the potentiality of the material, from choosing the best possible wood, to the respect for its future acoustical performance. On one hand, I try to allow the wood to have the amount of time needed to adapt itself in each step. On the other hand, I pay ultimate attention to the precision of set-up and playability by working closely with musicians for sound tests. In this way it will result in its most sounding potentiality and yet maintain a character of its own. Stylistically speaking, I aim to bring limpidness and modernity to this form of strument that remained almost unaltered ever since the 1500s. My inspirations come from many layers in life, from more tangible to more abstract. I believe that style is not sought after, but rather is developed with the personal growth. Apart from the certificate of authenticity, I also provide the clients who commission my instruments with a photographical portfolio of the making process, which contains the narration of the birth of this very instrument and its unique story. I consider it an inseparable part of my work.

Q: What is your inspiration?

My first inspiration would be the wood itself. We are guided by the wood we have in hand, as if there were a “genius loci”. In my opinion the wood is not only a material, but also contains a sort of landscape. I believe that the major part of our work is to give the wood most possible respect and thus we will find the best possible solution. Architecture gives me insights from spatial and geometrical thinking, as well as a preparative tool to understand acoustical functions of the violin. I find huge inspirations in the history of art, especially of Italian Renaissance. It helps me to imagine the origin of our craft in the corresponding context, and encourages me not to take curiosity for granted. Like all violinmakers I learn great lessons from the Cremonese masters from 16th to 18th century: they are decomposed and recomposed in every aspect mentioned above.

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Anqi Ni — Cremona, Italy

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