Daniela Gaidano

Daniela Gaidano is an Italian luthier specialized in Violoncello da Spalla. 

She has been a professional musician for 25 years, graduating in violin, viola and baroque viola, and performing with many professional orchestras and baroque ensembles (Fondazione Arena di Verona, Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento, Orchestra Barocca Zefiro, Collegium Vocale Gent, etc…). She loves opera of all periods and early music performed with gut strings. In particular she loves playing viola in orchestra, playing those inner parts that subtly support rhythmically or armonically all that is happening around.

For almost 15 years, as co-owner of the company Aquila Corde Armoniche, she made gut strings for early music following the Italian tradition. She actively participated in the revival of this knowledge by interviewing old string makers, researching in treatises and museums, giving lectures in whole Europe and Japan for musicians and luthiers. Her publications in Italian, English and Japanese are available on Amazon and Kindle.

For 10 years she led the branch of the company dedicated to ukuleles. She founded two brands China-made, an online shop and a distributor for Europe. Selling around 8/10.000 ukes per year she was a leader in the European market. She also organized festivals hosting international artists, and events to train teachers. Her goal was to supply affordable but good instruments to increase consciousness and appreciation for intonation and beautiful sound. 

Despite the enthusiasm for the craft, research, and travels, being a company owner was definitely not her cup of tea, and she felt relieved when she left. 

She took a violin making course with no precise expectations than better understanding her tools, but literally fall in love with this art. After a couple of years studying with Cecilia Piazzi in Trento, she participated in a 15 months training with Dmitry Badiarov, learning the fundamentals of ancient design by harmonical proportions (another Italian legacy almost forgotten) and getting more and more involved with Violoncello da Spalla, an instrument she knew since she made the first strings for Sigiswald Kuijken back in 2003, but she was skeptical about. She found that Violoncello da Spalla was not only fun to play, but has a serious background. She couldn’t resist the excitement of researching, making and performing and she is now fully engaged in undertaking these three activities, together with her supportive husband Alessandro. They work together in Meltina, a tiny village on a sunny plateau in South Tyrol, very close to the inspiring environments of Val di Fiemme and Cremona.

Daniela is also active as a gut strings consultant, cartoonist and karate teacher.