Music : Soul Violins

Miri Ben Ari ~ Chillin in the Key of E

Noel Pointer ~ Drive Time 

Itzhak Perlman ~ Beethoven Violin Concerto - Daniel Barenboim

Jean Luc Ponty ~ Mystical Adventures

http://www.sprengerviolins.com/e/violin_history.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_violin 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_violinThe violin, viola, and cello were first made in the early 16th century, in Italy. The earliest evidence for their existence is in paintings by Gaudenzio Ferrari from the 1530s, though Ferrari's instruments had only three strings. The Academie musicale, a treatise written in 1556 by Philibert Jambe de Fer, gives a clear description of the violin family much as we know it today.

Violins are likely to have been developed from a number of other string instruments of the 15th and 16th centuries, including the vielle, rebec, and lira da braccio. The history of bowed string instruments in Europe goes back to the 9th century with the Byzantine lira (or lūrā, Greek: λύρα).

Since their invention, the violin family have seen a number of changes. The overall pattern for the instrument was set in 17th century luthiers like Stradivarius and Jacob Stainer, with many makers at the time and since following their templates.