The news reports that on Niccolò Paganini’s birthday, at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Guarneri del Gesu violin ex-Vi tan (1741) will be played, with Kyoto Yonemoto as soloist, and conducted by Pavel Kogan with the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra. The instrument was bought and brought to Russia in 2008 by businessman Maxim Viktorov; he notes the event as a rare cultural milestone and notes prior purchase of a similar instrument in 2005 for about 1.16 million USD.
Daniel J. Wakin writes about violinist Aaron Rosand selling his ex-Kochanski Guarneri del Gesù for about $10 million. Rosand donates $1.5 million to the Curtis Institute of Music and explains the emotional significance of the instrument.
Joshua Bell, the American violinist, is performing in Warsaw and Częstochowa. The article notes the proceeds from the Warsaw concert go to a museum for Polish Jews in Warsaw, and that Bell bought the Purple Stradivarius for 4 million dollars. It provides background on Bronisław Huberman and the instrument’s history.
The article discusses Peter Silverman recovering a drawing believed to be a Leonardo da Vinci portrait of Bianca Sforza, once sold for $19,000 at Christie’s in 1998 and later bought back for $22,000 from gallery owner Kate Ganz; a forensic expert linked it to Leonardo’s St. Jerome in the Vatican.
Art experts, including forensic art analyst Peter Paul Biro, believe a fingerprint on a painting titled Profile of the Bella Principessa suggests it is a Leonardo da Vinci. The work was previously considered a 19th-century German painting, and the piece was bought in 2007 for about $19,000 by Peter Silverman on behalf of a Swiss collector. Some dealers estimate the painting could be worth over $150 million if confirmed as a da Vinci.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has acquired a rare complete set of European horse armor and an accompanying suit of man armor, one of the last such sets in private hands and the only one offered for sale in nearly 50 years. The acquisition, funded by Athena and Nicholas Karabots and the Karabots Foundation, will be displayed in the museum’s Arms and Armor galleries.
The article recounts how Joshua Bell will perform on violins that were stolen from Bronisław Huberman in 1919, with the thief later revealing the hiding place on his deathbed. It also notes a 1936 second theft and the subsequent recovery of the famed XVIII-century Stradivarius, named Gibson after its last owner, George Alfred Gibson.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong 20th Century Chinese Art Autumn Sale 2009 saw Sanyu’s Lotus et Poissons Rouges sell for HK$36,500,000 / US$4,680,000. The painting achieved an auction record for a landscape work by Sanyu and was bought by a Chinese telephone bidder after competition with bidders across Asia. Zao Wou-ki’s 7.4.61 sold for HK$15,780,000 / US$2,023,077.
The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian bought the top lot, a late Southern Song or Yuan dynasty stoneware tea storage jar (Chigusa) from China, at Christie’s New York sale of Japanese and Korean Art on Sept. 17 for $662,500, above its $100,000/150,000 estimate. The museum funded the purchase through members and the Freer endowment, and the jar will be added to the Freer Gallery’s collection of premodern Japanese ceramics with plans for public exhibition next year.
Doce Notas reporta que Antoine Cauche (Francia) obtuvo la medalla de oro en viola, Marko Pennanen (Finlandia) en violín y Silvio Levaggi (Italia) en violonchelo, en el XII Concurso Trienal Internacional de instrumentos de arco A. Stradivari de Cremona celebrado el 2 de octubre en el Teatro Ponchielli. También se mencionan los intérpretes y jurado, y que participaron 336 luthieres de 35 países con 482 instrumentos en competición.
The Cade Museum Foundation loaned a collection of antique violins and violas from Dr. James Robert Cade to UF School of Music students for Fall 2009. The collection includes about 30 instruments dating back to the 18th century, with UF music professors evaluating suitability for loan and plans for future concerts featuring the instruments.
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra Blog discusses the opening night of its 75th Anniversary Season Masterworks Series, featuring Soovin Kim on violin and VSO principal oboist Nancy Dimock conducted by Jaime Laredo. The notes describe David Ludwig's Radiance for oboe and string orchestra in detail, including its commission by the Richmond Symphony and performances at Carnegie Hall and by the Vermont Youth Orchestra.
Warhol, Escher and Lichtenstein works discussed in Heritage Auctions’ Signature Modern & Contemporary Art Auction in Dallas, with pieces by Joan Mitchell, Sam Francis, George Kolbe, 7-Eleven corporate collection selections including Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Indiana; prices estimated for several lots in the article.