by Alessio Zuccaro
Giorgio Grisales is certainly one of the most important names in Cremonese violin making. Born in Colombia in 1963, this year he celebrates 35 years of activity in his workshop, where he is now joined by his son Andrea and his nephew Riccardo. We met him in view of the 2025 edition of Cremona Musica International Exhibitions and Festival, scheduled in the Lombardy city from Friday 26 to Sunday 28 September.
Maestro, what brought a Colombian boy to leave his country to study this ancient craft?
I was born as a musician: in Colombia I studied cello and medicine, and between the two, music won. Over the years, I was increasingly attracted by woodworking and the possibility of building my own instruments, so I became passionate about violin making and came to study in Cremona in 1984, at the International School of Violin Making under the guidance of Giorgio Ce, first winner of the Cremona Triennial Competition.
Since 2016, you have also been President of the Consorzio Liutai di Cremona. How do you see the future of this profession? What are the most important challenges that it will have to face?
The biggest challenge, certainly, is counterfeiting, that illegal activity for which many instruments that are produced abroad are then labeled and sold as Cremonese. We are also experiencing a period of market decline, which forces modern luthiers to make an effort to emerge in quality, rather than quantity. If this is lacking, Cremona will be overwhelmed by new markets. Fortunately, I see in the new generations an interest in high-level craftsmanship, which goes beyond quantitative logic.
What will this year bring to Cremona Musica?
At our stand you can find a bit of everything: new instruments, old instruments, books. In particular, this year we will focus on copies of historical instruments, which our workshop is specializing in. We use very old woods and try to reproduce in every way the features of these masterpieces. A long and tiring job, but which offers a new perspective on violin making, which we need today more than ever.
