Sorgentone & Mecatti, what "respect" means in lutherie

For more than 20 years the luthiers Paolo Sorgentone and Michele Mecatti have been working together in their workshop, in Florence. Here they developed their own personal style, also trying to promote the Tuscan lutherie. This year they will again be at Cremona Musica, to show the outcome of their work. We interviewed them.


How did you meet and how did you start your business?

We met at the School of Lutherie of Cremona, then we followed different paths, between Florence and Paris. We opened our workshop in Florence in 1998.



Which are the main peculiarities of your instruments?

Since the beginning, we both developed our own style independently, to make it different from any school or tradition. The peculiarity of our instruments is the attention in the details and the finishing, that makes any instrument unique and gives it the distinctive mark of the hand of the maker.


Which are the main points of reference for your models?

Over the years we selected the models we liked most. Paolo Sorgentone built on Stradivari’s, Montagnana’s and Amati’s models, then he developed his own personal models. Michele Mecatti built on Gagliano’s, the Amati brothers’, and Stradivari’s models. We also built on Tuscan models, like Gragnani, Carcassi, Piattellini, to make people rediscover a school of lutherie less known, but still important.


Do you work together on the same instruments or does each of you produce his own instruments?

Each instrument is rigorously made by the luthier that signs it. This rule is valid both for our instruments and for those made by the young luthiers that work with us. The apprentices and the luthiers that are trained in our workshop follow our same principles, producing instruments with their own authenticity, but with common elements.


Your keyword is “respect”, as you wrote on your website. What does this mean in your work?

We take our job really seriously; we are always looking for new techniques and pieces of knowledge to satisfy our customers. Respect also means paying attention to the price of our own instruments. Finally, respect means caring for ourselves, regarding the work conditions and the opportunities for professional development.


What is the importance of Cremona Musica in your business?

After avoiding all International exhibitions for several years, we have recently focused on Cremona Mondomusica as the point of reference for the world of lutherie and as a good opportunity for professional meetings.