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The "Kruse" violin is one of the comparatively rare violins made by Stradivari with a slab-cut back, that is with the grain aligned horizontally through the thickness of the back rather than vertically. The maple is generally thought to be less strong but more elastic in this direction, conducive to a warmer but possibly less penetrating sound, and it is significant that the Amati family generally preferred this construction. It is often suggested that Stradivari left these slab cut backs slightly thicker than normal to compensate for the relative weakness, but this is certainly not the case in this example. The slab cut presents a particularly subtle figuring in the wood, and in the "Kruse" this is seen to full advantage, with the flame having a silk-like sheen.
It is an exceptionally well-preserved instrument, in which all Stradivari’s immaculate craftsmanship can be clearly read. It was made on the “PG” (for piu grande meaning “a little larger”) form, which in the Museo Stradivariano collection is dated 4 June 1689, and is obviously well-used. It is indeed slightly longer than the “P” mould on which the Maurin was made, but smaller all round than the great “G” form instruments of the Golden Period. Like the "Maurin" it has distinctively upright, narrowly cut soundholes. The arching is further developed to provide a very full curve across the centre, the visual effect of which is to give a sudden slope down to the purfling from the outer edge of the “F”. Tonally, this arching, like the earlier long pattern violins, refers back to the darker sound of Brescian instruments, and becomes an increasingly noticeable feature of the last works by Antonio. The relative strength and bulk of the late period instruments is enhanced by the wider edge, with broader purfling recalling instruments of the 1690's.
The "Kruse" has a particularly illustrious history, beginning with Rudolphe Kreutzer, who may have obtained it from Tarisio in Paris in the mid XIXth century. Kreutzer’s pupil, Desire Beaulieu then kept the instrument until his death in 1863, directing that the proceeds from its sale should go to the poor of the parish. The violin then passed through the hands of just about every famous violin dealer of the time in succession; from Gand in Paris to Hills in London, then to Hamma of Stuttgart and Hammig of Berlin, where it finally reached the hands of a player, Johan Kruse, in 1904. Kruse was a pupil of Joachim, and his name has remained with the instrument in its subsequent travels, although he only owned it for four years, selling it to Prince Wilhelm of Prussia in 1908. In the XXth century it again passed around several continents and various dealers and collectors, including Robert Bower and Maurice Cottle, and through the offices of Peter Biddulph of London, has now settled in the south of France in the hands of an enthusiastic and appreciative amateur player.
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