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Violino Piccolo

attributed to Joseph Hill British
ca. 1750
Not on view
This small-size violin is a rare form of the instrument known as a violino piccolo. Instruments such as this were used to play higher passages in ensemble music written in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Most famously, there is a part for a violino piccolo in J. S. Bach's first Brandenburg Concerto. As playing techniques changed in the second half of the eighteenth century, violinists began to shift their hands higher on the fingerboard, allowing them to play these higher passages on standard instruments. Surviving violinos piccolo are quite rare and significantly, this example retains its original internal bass bar and neck, parts that were often replaced in the nineteenth century. This instrument was in the personal collection of New York City violin dealer Rembert Wurlitzer and is attributed to the London maker Joseph Hill.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Violino Piccolo
  • Maker: attributed to Joseph Hill (Joseph Hill (British, London 1715–1784 London))
  • Date: ca. 1750
  • Geography: United Kingdom; United States
  • Culture: British
  • Medium: Spruce, maple, ebony
  • Dimensions: Overall length: 21 1/4 inches (54 cm)
    Body length: 12 1/2 inches (31.8 cm)
    Lower bout width: 7 inches (17.8 cm)
    String length: 11 13/16 inches (30 cm)
  • Classification: Musical instruments
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Edward J. and Susan M. Greenberg Gift, 2022
  • Object Number: 2022.20a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

Audio

Cover Image for Fantasie in E Flat Major by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). Performed by Peter Sheppard Skærved on a violino piccolo attributed to Joseph Hill, ca. 1750 at The Metropolitan Museum. Recorded in 2022.

Fantasie in E Flat Major by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). Performed by Peter Sheppard Skærved on a violino piccolo attributed to Joseph Hill, ca. 1750 at The Metropolitan Museum. Recorded in 2022.

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