Today, I would like to introduce to you the famous Guaqin 1734 "Devil's Qin", which is one of the most beautiful and well preserved qin made by Degisu Guarneri. The Devil's Piano has been out of the public eye for a long time. According to the Hill Brothers Company, as early as 1754 in the 18th century, the famous Italian violinist Gerolamo Pugnani (1731-1798) often used this violin to play in concerts. His favorite violin was made by Degisu Guarneri in 1734. Pugnani liked to use thicker strings and used his extraordinary right-handed skills, which were excellent in both volume and control of various subtle levels. In addition, his left-handed skills provided accurate pitch, and his playing was not only powerful but also very persuasive, especially in singing passages. It can be said that Puniani was the first violin to discover the excellent sound of the Degisu Guanai violin

Italian violinist Pliani

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Italian prodigy Luigi Tarisio collected this violin from various streets and alleys in Italy and sold it to the famous French violin maker J.B. Vuillume in Paris. Soon after, the famous French violinist Arthur Saint Leon (1821-1870) purchased this violin. Saint Leon was the screenwriter of the ballet "Gebelia" and in 1849, as a dancer and violinist, he personally designed and played a piece created by Puni called "Le Violon du Diable" (French for "Devil's Violin") using this violin. Since then, this violin has been known as the "Devil's Violin". In 1872, at an exhibition in South Kensington, London, Stradivari's "Messiah the Savior" and Guarneri's "Diable the Devil's Violin" were exhibited simultaneously, which sparked an interesting story in the violin industry. After Saint Leon, the piano went to the hands of the Hill brothers in London. A few years later, British collector Richard Bennett collected the piano and it was repurchased by the Hill brothers in 1920. In 1931, the Hill brothers published their book "Complete Collection of Violin Names", in which the "Devil's Violin" was included in the Guarneri Piano Collection. The Hill brothers held this violin until 1974, and then it went to New York, USA, where it was sold to the wealthy Juan Luis Prieto in Mexico City.