In a previous post, we talked about how a violin’s varnish plays a crucial role in the quality of its sound. We also talked about Stradivarius violins, and how they stand out in the world of strings as special – even mysterious, for their superior sound. In fact, Stradivarius violins are so valuable, that one stolen 35 years ago made the headlines when it was recovered last year.
The Stradivarius belonged to Roman Totenberg, a world-renowned virtuoso violinist boasting a professional career spanning nine decades and four continents. While Totenberg greeted well-wishers after a concert, someone sneaked into his office at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge and made away with his prized instrument, which he had been playing for decades.
His daughter, Nina Totenberg describes the violinist’s experience:
Totenberg holds his Stradivarius before a rehearsal in Aspen, Colo., in the late 1950s. Courtesy of the Totenberg family via NPR
It was a crushing loss for my father. As he put it, he had lost his “musical partner of 38 years.” And when he would ultimately buy a Guarneri violin from the same period as the Stradivarius, he’d have to rework the fingering of his entire repertoire for the new instrument.
My father would dream of opening his violin case and seeing the Strad there again, but he never laid eyes on it again. He died in 2012, but the Stradivarius lived on — somewhere. Via NPR
Surprisingly, the violin was discovered to have been stolen by Phillip Johnson, who at the time was an aspiring violinist. Although Totenberg didn’t know much about Johnson, he always suspected him to have stolen the violin, because he had been seen outside his office around the time of the violin’s disappearance.
Additionally, Johnson’s ex-girlfriend approached Totenberg and his wife later on, telling them she also suspected Johnson had the violin. Unfortunately, this information was still not enough to facilitate the violin’s recovery.
Totenberg practices with his daughter Amy. Courtesy of the Totenberg family via NPR
Law enforcement officials believed, however, that was not enough for a search warrant. My mother was so frustrated that she famously would ask friends if they knew anyone in the mob willing to break into an apartment and search for the violin.
Phillip Johnson eventually moved to California, had an undistinguished musical career and died of cancer at age 58, a year before my father died at the age of 101.
Fast-forward four more years. Johnson’s ex-wife and her boyfriend were cleaning house, and they came across a violin case that her former husband had left to her, with a combination lock on it. They broke the lock and opened the case to find a violin with a label inside that said it was made in 1734 by the most famous violin-maker of all time — Antonio Stradivari. Via NPR
When Johnson’s ex-wife got in touch with a violin-maker and appraiser Phillip Injenian, the violin-maker naturally assumed the violin was one of the many copies or cheap imitations. It’s worth noting that while there are just about 550 original Stradivarius in existence today, there are thousands of copies and imitations.
However, after seeing photos of the instrument and doing his research, he concluded that the violin must have been that stolen from Roman Totenberg. His suspicions were confirmed when he got actually got a closer look at the instrument. It was after he reported his findings to the FBI that the process of returning the violin to the Totenberg family begun.
(Left) Documentation of the Ames Stradivarius. (Right) An image of the Stradivarius when the FBI collected it last month. Courtesy of the Totenberg family/Courtesy of FBI New York
So, the mystery was solved. All these years, the violin had been in the same guilty hands.
Appraiser Injeian says Johnson had tried to preserve the instrument himself, but knowing that any reputable restorer or dealer would recognize it, he had not had the violin properly maintained by the expert craftsmen who do this kind of work.
“It’s a real miracle that it didn’t take any major hits or cracks or anything of that nature,” Injeian says. Via NPR
The Ames Stradivarius is now in the hands of the Totenberg sisters – Nina, Amy and Jill. It was handed over to them in a formal ceremony at the New York U.S. attorney’s office. So what do they intend to do with the prized instrument?
The Totenberg sisters — Amy (from left), Nina and Jill – see their father’s stolen Stradivarius for the first time in 35 years. Lydia Thompson/NPR
Of course, Stradivarius owners are really just guardians of these great artistic instruments. We will sell the Ames Strad — now perhaps the Ames-Totenberg Stradivarius. We will make sure it is in the hands of another virtuoso violinist. And once again, the beautiful, brilliant and throaty voice of that long-stilled violin will thrill audiences in concert halls around the world. Via NPR
Stradivarius: What you need to know about the legendary violins
Owning a Stradivarius immediately puts a violinist into one of the world’s most exclusive clubs. Either you’re rich enough to own one, which as a musician is an accomplishment in itself, or you’ve won the privilege to play one through a contest or fellowship. But for those who don’t play violin, the idea of a Stradivarius can be confusing. Here’s what you need to know about the legendary instruments.
What is a Stradivarius?
Stradivarius is actually the anglicized form of Stradivari, the last name of Antonio Stradivari. Stradivari was an instrument maker in the northern Italian city of Cremona. Via Globe and Mail
Analysing the ‘Titian’ Stradivarius violin, 1715
The ‘Titian’ Stradivari of 1715 has long been counted among its maker’s finest golden-period violins. In the hands of soloist Cho-Liang Lin, its current player, it has revealed itself to be a formidable concert instrument of unusual power and scope, remarkable for its focus and resilience under the bow.
As a caretaker of this violin, I have a dual role as conservator and pit-stop mechanic. As a violin copyist, I want to take measurements and details from this extremely successful example. And as a maker who wants to move forward, I want to understand the violin’s underlying functions, and to use those variables with greater freedom and confidence. Via The Strad
One of the world’s rarest and most expensive violins visited Edmonton on Thursday, bringing with it more than 300 years of history and a sound unique to its famous maker.
Made in 1715 by famed Italian violin maker Antonio Stradivari, the ‘ex-Bazzini – De Vito’ violin is on tour with Maestro Matteo Fedeli as part of his “A Stradivarius for the People” series of performances.
The violin made its Edmonton debut with Fedeli at the Winspear Centre Thursday evening alongside pianist Emilio De Mercato. Via CBC
Owning a Stradivarius immediately puts a violinist into one of the world’s most exclusive clubs. Either you’re rich enough to own one, which as a musician is an accomplishment in itself, or you’ve won the privilege to play one through a contest or fellowship. But for those who don’t play violin, the idea of a Stradivarius can be confusing. Here’s what you need to know about the legendary instruments.
The ‘Titian’ Stradivari of 1715 has long been counted among its maker’s finest golden-period violins. In the hands of soloist Cho-Liang Lin, its current player, it has revealed itself to be a formidable concert instrument of unusual power and scope, remarkable for its focus and resilience under the bow.
One of the world’s rarest and most expensive violins visited Edmonton on Thursday, bringing with it more than 300 years of history and a sound unique to its famous maker.
