05/29/2026
The ‘Casals’ Goffriller follows a remarkable early journey through 19th-century England, shaped by a culture of collecting that drew many important Italian instruments out of their original context and into the hands of dealers and private owners.
First recorded in the possession of John van Somer of Stamford Hill, the cello later passed through W. E. Hill & Sons and Glasgow dealer David Laurie, reflecting the active and often commercially driven trade in fine instruments during the Victorian period. By the late 19th century, it had already become part of a shifting narrative of attribution, expertise, and evolving connoisseurship—moving between identities as it changed hands across Europe.
Today, this layered provenance remains an essential part of the instrument’s story, tracing how the ‘Casals’ Goffriller came to be understood as one of the defining Venetian cellos of its era.
Read the full story: The 'Casals' Goffriller, loaned to the winner of the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition - Tarisio https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/cozio-carteggio/the-casals-goffriller-loaned-to-the-winner-of-the-2026-queen-elisabeth-cello-competition/
