Giovanni Lucchi

Background

Lucchi trained as a double bassist, graduating from the Conservatorio Statale di Musica "Gioachino Rossini" in Pesaro in 1963. He worked for several years as a musician and instructor, and in 1971, he began constructing and restoring bows. He went to Brienz, Switzerland to apprentice under S. Finkel.

Career

In 1976, Lucchi founded a school for bowmaking in Cremona, Italy, where he taught courses in bow construction, maintenance and restoration, as well as style and design.

In 1983, Lucchi invented the Lucchi Meter, a device used to measure the speed of sound in wood that has become a standard tool of bow makers.

Lucchi was active within the community of luthiers and bowmakers, holding various posts among professional societies and writing and speaking often in journals and conferences relating to the art.

Professional activities

Publications

Reputation

Lucchi's reputation was such that he was the bow maker for artists such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Pinchas Zukerman and Gary Karr, among others.

Lucchi Foundation

The “Fondazione Lucchi” comes from the desire to continue the work of the Bowmaker Maestro Giovanni Lucchi. Those who knew him knows he loved to share the culture of handcraft and his discoveries.
One of his great project was to create a foundation that would promote research, discovery about materials, knowledge of the violin bow.
We’ve made in his memory, because the cultural legacy he left us can get to many people in all parts of the world, as he wished.