First Dutch edition of an exceptionally important translation of Leopold Mozarts (1719-1787) celebrated Versuch einer gründlichen violinschule (Augsburg, 1756), one of the most influential violin treatises of the 18th-century and a cornerstone in the history of musical pedagogy.
Mozart (1719-1787), court musician and later vice-Kapellmeister in Salzburg, was among the most influential violin pedagogues of the 18th century, and is today also remembered as the father and first teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). His Violinschule, the first truly systematic treatise devoted entirely to the violin, secured his international reputation and remained authoritative well into the 19th century, exerting a profound influence on both professional musicians and amateur players alike.
This 1766 Haarlem edition was produced by Johannes Enschedé (1708-1780), the leading Dutch printer of his time, and is of outstanding typographical and technical interest. Mozart himself praised the work in a letter of 16 May 1766, describing the Dutch edition as "exceptionally beautiful, even more so than my own".
Dedicated to Willem V (1748-1806), Prince of Orange, and a sumptuous presentation copy, bound in red morocco, was presented to him on the occasion of his installation as Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic on his 18th birthday, 8 March 1766. That copy is now preserved in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague.
The present work is illustrated with an engraved frontispiece portrait of Mozart playing the violin, an engraved headpiece to the dedication, and 3 full-page engraved plates by Cornelis van Noorde (1731-1795), demonstrating correct and incorrect violin posture and bowing technique, together with a large folding musical table and numerous musical examples throughout the text. The engraved illustrations are newly cut for this edition and differ subtly from those in the original German printing.
Beyond its physical beauty, Grondig onderwys is a work of enduring pedagogical importance. Mozarts treatise offers a systematic and lucid exposition of violin technique, bowing, ornamentation, and musical expression, far surpassing earlier instructional manuals in scope and clarity.
With a bookplate ("Ex libris Adolphe Pot") mounted on the first endpaper of Hubert Guillaume Adolphe Poth (1885-1981), a Dutch violinist of Belgian origin, trained at the Conservatoire of Liège under Léopold Charlier (1867-1936) and Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931), and later long-serving concertmaster of the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, a manuscript owner's inscription ("Jan Baers 1832") on the recto of the first flyleaf. The binding shows some wear, mainly to the spine and corners and edges of the boards, a damp stain to pp. 1-12, some slight browning to a few leaves, and a small tear to the folding plate (not affecting the music table). Otherwise in good condition. Eitner VII, 91; Govaerts 1192; Hirsch I, 420; Scheurleer I, p. 345; STCN 151396566 ( 8 copies); WorldCat 634746239.