{{otheruses4|the Amati family of luthiers|the automobile marque|Mazda#Marques}}
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'''Amati''' is the name of a family of [[Italy|Italian]] [[violin]] makers, who flourished at [[Cremona]] from about 1549 to 1740.

==Family members==
===Andrea Amati===
'''Andrea Amati''' (ca. [[1520]] – ca. [[1578]]) was the earliest maker of violins whose instruments still survive today. Indeed he seems more or less responsible for giving the instruments of the modern violin family their definitive profile. A small number of his instruments survive, dated between the years of 1564 and 1574 and most bearing the coat of arms of [[Charles IX of France]].

===Antonio and Girolamo Amati===
Andrea Amati was succeeded by his sons '''Antonio Amati''' (born ca. 1550) and '''Girolamo Amati''' (1551-1635). "The Brothers Amati", as they were known, implemented far-reaching innovations in design, including the perfection of the shape of the [[f-holes]]. They are also thought to have pioneered the modern alto format of [[viola]], in contrast to older tenor violas.

===Nicolò Amati===
{{main|Nicolò Amati}}
'''Nicolò Amati''' ([[December 3]], [[1596]] – [[April 12]], [[1684]]) was the son of Girolamo Amati. He was the most eminent of the family. He improved the model adopted by the rest of the Amatis and produced instruments capable of yielding greater power of [[timbre|tone]]. His pattern was unusually small, but he also made a wider model now known as the "Grand Amati", which have become his most sought-after violins.

Of his pupils, the most famous were [[Antonio Stradivari]] and Andrea [[Guarneri]], the first of the Guarneri family of violin makers. (There is much controversy regarding the apprenticeship of Antonio Stradivari. While Stradivari's first known violin states that he was a pupil of Amati, the validity of his statement is questioned.)

===Girolamo Amati===
The last maker of the family was Nicolo's son, '''Girolamo Amati''', known as '''Hieronymus II''' ([[February 26]], [[1649 in music|1649]] – [[February 21]], [[1740]]). Although he improved on the arching of his father's instruments, by and large they are inferior and no match for the greatest maker of his day, Antonio Stradivari.

==Extant Amati instruments==
<!-- the NMM web page lacks a centralized list of Amati instruments in their collection, so they are linked individually -->
*Amati instruments at the [http://www.usd.edu/smm/ National Music Museum]:
**Andrea Amati:
***[http://www.usd.edu/smm/Cellos/Amati/Amaticello.html Cello, "The King", circa 1545, the world's oldest extant cello]
***[http://www.usd.edu/smm/Violas/Amati3370/3370AmatiViola.html Viola, 1560]
***[http://www.usd.edu/smm/Violins/Amati3366/3366AmatiViolin.html Violin, 1560]
***[http://www.usd.edu/smm/Violins/Amati5260/5260AmatiViolin.html Violin, 1574]
**Girolamo Amati:
***[http://www.usd.edu/smm/Violins/Amati3423/3423AmatiViolin.html Violin, 1604]
***[http://www.usd.edu/smm/Violins/Amati3364/HAmatiViolin.html Violin, 7/8-size, 1609]
***[http://www.usd.edu/smm/Violins/AmatiViolinoPiccolo/3361ViolinoPiccolo.html Violino piccolo, 1613]
**Nicolò Amati:
***[http://www.usd.edu/smm/Violins/AmatiNicolo/3356NAmatiViolin.html Violin, 1628]
<!-- end of NMM section -->

==See also==
*[[Antonio Stradivari]]
*[[Amati Quartet]]
*[[Luthier]]

==References==
*{{1911|article=Amati|url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Amati}}


[[Category:Italian musical instrument makers]]
[[Category:Luthiers]]
[[Category:Multiple people]]
[[Category:Bowed string instrument makers]]

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