George Simon Gerard Stoppani

What I do know is that George has been a great role model in my last decades. We have shared very interesting and emotional moments: we shared a great project (the Bilbao Project) and we have measured many instruments together, in Bilbao, in Villefavard, in Oberlin...

He really has been a very influential person in my life. He dedicated his entire life to creating, researching, improving and sharing the knowledge he acquired. He was also able to develop an exceptional modal analysis software, dedicating countless hours of his life to it. Personally, I will be immensely and eternally grateful to him for creating this amazing "Stoppani MA software".

George once said that he was not particularly intelligent, but rather persevering. To achieve all that he achieved, you have to be persevering, yes, but also very intelligent and brilliant. He was actually an exceptional person, both intellectually and humanly. He was always very respectful to everyone around him, always willing to share his enormous knowledge with anyone who asked him for help or advice. I always saw him prejudice free and with a kind disposition to everyone. Even in difficult times, he always had a positive attitude.

Nearly one year has passed since we lost George , my brilliant mentor, helpful collegue and amazingly attentive and very very funny friend. He had the ability to always ask the right question. I had the honour to know him working together at the Bilbao Projekt and at the Villefavard acoustic weeks in France. Knowing him has made me a better violinmaker and a better person. He will be deeply missed and is present in my memories at the workbench every day.

I'm deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our dear friend, George Stoppani. About twelve years ago, George and I spent many hours together in Cambridge, conducting experiments on the vibrational modes of cellos. Time would slip away as we immersed ourselves in our work, only to look up and realize the sun had set.

I fondly remember traveling to Manchester specifically to collaborate with him again. I took him to a Chinese grocery store to buy some ingredients. It was a delightful experience sharing my culture with him, and I even taught him how to make dumplings. I playfully warned my advisor, Jim Woodhouse, to avoid watching George make gut strings. The whole process was so captivating, showcasing George's unmatched passion and dedication, that it was difficult to think of food afterward! His craftsmanship and enthusiasm were truly inspiring.

George was a joyful spirit, always ready to share his knowledge and expertise. His warmth and humor will be greatly missed. Rest in peace, dear George.

George and I extend our heartfelt sympathy for the loss of George.
I had the pleasure of teaching Isobel and Madeline violin for several years.
I saw them and George twice a week during that time.
I have happy and often funny memories of them all.
My husband George spent many happy hours in his workshop drinking tea from a well stained cup that George S insisted gave a better taste.
He was a great character who will be sadly missed.

An extraordinary titan of the violin making world and a dear friend and colleague has left the earth.

I met George in the eighties at a Tiverton conference on violin making/acoustics. At that time he had an ironic rough humour that I loved. But most of all he seemed to have an impressive grasp of all manner of knowledge.
At that time, only a handful of makers were interested in the objective study of violins. His academic background he primarily soaked up at York University where he studied literature and music.

It was his autodidactic understanding of violin acoustics that impressed me the most. I struggled to follow his explanations, and even a couple of months ago we spoke on the phone about an acoustics problem and I felt that I was not able to understand at his level. But Many colleagues and I have in some way, slowly acquired a much better understanding of the way stringed instruments work and behave through his selfless sharing of his knowledge.

Rest in peace George Stoppani and thank you for your inspiration and guidance in the maze of violin acoustics. George left us with a treasure of knowledge and insight that has changed violin making forever along with a few other contributors to the never ending search for beauty and clarity.

I am pretty illiterate when it comes to numbers but I always remember George’s patience with me when it came to explaining things. He was incredibly generous with his time, happily dedicating several days to trying different combinations of string thicknesses in order to get my violin to sound its best. Instruments seemed to be like delicate animals in his hands - he knows exactly how to encourage one back to full health and vitality. RIP George.

So many tributes to George's talent, wit and humour, that to add more seems superfluous. However, I think no-one's yet mentioned that his degree was in English literature (York University), Yet back in the days when few people had computers, George taught himself enough maths, physics, and programming to come up with a 3D representation on screen of a violin, fitted with tiny accelerometers, on which you could see how the body vibrated in different modes as you glissandoed through the range of frequencies, thereby seeing which bits needed stiffening and which bits needed thinning. Since then he has considerably advanced research into the physics of violins, as well as researching varnish and string making. Not only this, but he also put on a wonderful party only a few weeks ago, displaying talents as an impressario too!

They say that at life’s end few people wish they had spent more time working. I’m not sure that applies to violinmakers. When I last spoke with George, he was fully aware that his remaining time would be counted in months, and yet he had plans to start building a 15 ¾” viola based on 1773 Guadagnini – an instrument he and a group of friends had studied in depth. Each viola they built on the model had, George said, a fierceness to the sound. We talked about the problems of getting good sound from small violas, and how Guadagnini had solved them using wood most makers would throw out. Too much time working? George had the enthusiasm of someone just getting started. I decided to use the Guadagnini model for an upcoming commission. Working on it will remind me of George, and of our hundreds of conversations over the years – while eating, while driving, by WhatsApp and by Zoom. It will remind me of George’s fierce curiosity and his sparkling mind. It will remind me of the beloved friend who shone brightly and left too soon. He will not be forgotten.

I got to know George back in the 1990s, having seen his remarkable strings on a bass violin. A few months later, having badgered him to make more for me, I wondered aloud whether he needed a volunteer to help speed things along, and before long I found myself elbow deep in sheep gut in George's workshop in Chorlton. Over the next 3 decades I was privileged to spend time with this extraordinary person - fiercely intelligent, funny, inventive, resourceful, and indefatigable. George's skill set was quite remarkable: luthier, engineer, mathematician, stringmaker, computer programmer, Tae Kwon-Do expert, cook, and probably many other things that I didn't know about. He would often patiently explain to me his latest acoustics research ideas - my maths was never up to it, but I tried to take in as much as possible. These bore fantastic fruit in his instrument-making over the years - he would always let me try his latest violins when I visited and they remain among the best instruments I've ever played.
One of the most enjoyable projects we embarked on was the 'Monteverdi' violins - a pair (initially) of instruments based on the early Cremonese style and set-up. At that time (2005), hardly any instruments aimed at the early 17th century were in circulation - there was a huge gap in the HIP world between 'renaissance' and 'baroque' violins. George's instruments have been a huge success - the instruments themselves have taught me a great deal about how to make music in that unique sound-world.
The string making was our main shared passion; having never been able to find strings that worked at the kind of thicknesses indicated by historical evidence, I was absolutely thrilled to be involved in an endeavour that broke that particular barrier to good historical performance. The process was honed over the years to incorporate every scrap of historical information we could garner with the help of George's ever-present ingenuity. These strings have helped transform the sound of many HIP ensembles; as I write this I am on my way to deliver a set to a French orchestra, so I look forward to hearing something new from them and thinking back on my friendship with George.
I can hardly count the number of fantastic meals George cooked for me over the years, and the many, many bottles of red wine we shared, winding down after an intense day of twisting guts by watching George's latest Netflix discovery - usually something surreal and dystopian! In fact he is responsible for my latest obsession with Korean film and television, having introduced me to the brilliant but troubling series 'Beef'. 감사합니다!
This loss has not yet fully sunk in, and I am not sure I am fully prepared for the day it does. Go well, old friend, and thank you for the memories.

I met George at the VSA Oberlin Violin acoustics workshops in Ohio, USA from 2006-2012 and in some meeting in Cambridge UK on workshops with Jim Woodhouse. He was funny, smart, unsentimental and generous. He alsways responded to questions on e-mail and was an active contributor on violin acoustics «chats».
An an autodidact in programming he made a modal analysis program for violin acoustics use, free of charge. And helped makers and researchers to get access to similar tools Martin Schleske had from his time at Müller BBM. I was late at atarting to learn and use it, but iot has been one of my best tools in research and George was helpful in the process. We paid a little for the efforts, although he never asked for that.
He was also a specialist on gut strings and made them for early instrument use. He also had a claculator for string tension. And I think he made really good instruments lately. His contact and exchange with the best violin, cello and bass makers, as well as cooperative measurements of fine instruments must have payed off.
He was strong in his grip, and performed some form of martial arts. A nice and calm conversator.
Thanks for your generousity, wit, humor, insights, sharing of knowledge, and for participating so much in the community. You have made many makers, researchers and musicians sharper and happier.

Our dear friend George was a person out of the ordinary and well worth remembering. We always tend to emphasize the virtues of those who have left us, but in George's case it is not neccesary, the risk is comming too short. George was extremely gifted. We used to call him "Leonardo" because he had an amazing knowledge about lots of subjects, but also because he had a sharp rational approach (so rare in the predominant romanticism of violin making) and he was in a position to think in the limit, to push the boundaries of these fields. Besides being a top violin maker, he was a world expert in violin acoustics, varnish chemistry, string manufacture, baroque instruments and many other subjects. He was venerated by both academics and top violin makers and he was extremely generous sharing his knowledge. Without any sign of snobism he would help anyone, from students to competitors, patiently spending hours and hours with contagious enthsiasm. He had a refined and a bit irreverent sense of humor that delighted everyone. But if we had to describe George with a few words we would have to say that he was a "free human being", he lived his life the way he wanted, not coherced by commercial success or prestige or competition. He used to say that he could do research on his own but sharing it with others was "more fun". George had a beautiful, incredibly talented family and his life was a life of success because his wonderful and serene personality and his amazing inteligence aimed at it. If a person deserved living one thousand years it should be someone like George. We will miss him greatly.

When I first meet George Stoppani, by then I had been searching for a violín for almost 4 years and a half. By then I was a young man with 28 years old, from Spain with no place to go in Manchester and George invited me to stay at his home. All the things I've learned and enjoyed those days transformed everything. Which was supposed to be just a trip for buying a violin it became a human inspiring days and a knowledge process that stills going on every day. Playing his 2016 violin and talking about him and about all the things I've learned from George, at the school in which I teach, is one of the most beautiful things he left, from violin making to human kindness. I owe him so much and I thank him every day since those days back on April 2017. Thank you for the inspiring love and for creating instruments with heart that can be heared. It is a irretrievable loss.

I first met George when I was a student at the RNCM at a festival in the late 90s, where he was exhibiting his instruments. He helped me with the set up of an instrument I was borrowing and we ended up talking at length about baroque instruments and making. I met his various times over the last 30 years and he was always very generous with both his knowledge and time. My heartfelt condolences for your loss, and may his memory be a solace. Kindest regards, Emma (viola player and bowmaker)

I knew George for a short while while we're neighbours in Manchester. I was proud and intrigued to have a violin maker as my next door neighbour. He was so interesting and engaging to talk to. I can remember going out to sweep the leaves and George coming out to talk about something relating to a tree,next thing it was going dark and the leaves stayed where they were. He had ambition and vision and I enjoyed meeting him very much. I'm sorry his daughters had to lose him so young. My condolences are with you.

Most of my memories of my work with George were either around trying to keep up with his thinking or just enjoying playing his violins and discussing them with him. It was always fun and inspirational to see his clear love and enthusiasm for his work. I try and emulate that - and think of him every time I play my violin that he made (and yes - I have all of the data on it as well).

To be in George's company was to see life through kind, witty, quietly brilliant eyes.
He was a warm,generous hearted man, an unrushed friend and deep thinker... now hugely missed.

I originally got to know George in 2010, after buying a violin from him. Recently, after moving to Manchester, my wife, children and I met him more often and got to know him a little better. George was always very generous, interesting to talk to and knowledgeable about all sorts of things, not just violin making. We will greatly miss him.