Monthly archive
29 headlines
Source-linked reporting
tarisio.com
The article describes a 1938 viola made under the direction of Simone Fernando Sacconi as part of GiveBack, a benefit auction supporting musicians affected by COVID-19. It notes Sacconi's influence, the labels on the viola, and context about Sacconi's career and methods.
theviolinchannel.com
Nathan Meltzer, a 19-year-old American violinist and Juilliard student, is highlighted as a rising virtuoso. The piece notes his 2017 Windsor Festival International String Competition first prize at age 16 and details several recent and upcoming engagements, plus his loaned 1734 Ames/Totenberg Stradivari from Rare Violins of New York InConsortium.
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind SOTHEBY’S ONLINE SALE OF PRINTS & MULTIPLES ACHIEVES $3.4 MILLION Our Highest Total for an Online Auction of Prints. Its account reports that nEW YORK, 29 April 2020 – Sotheby's Prints & Multiples online auction concluded yesterday with a total of $3.4 million and a strong 88% of lots sold.
artsy.net
Robert Indiana’s LOVE design is at the center of a $150-million legal dispute. The article discusses lawsuits filed by the Morgan Art Foundation against Jamie Thomas and Michael McKenzie, and a counterclaim by McKenzie alleging copyright issues and public-domain status for the LOVE design.
floridatoday.com
The article reports that James Phillips, 46, of Palm Bay, former general manager of Gatchell Violins Co. in Melbourne, was charged with multiple counts including 23 counts of depositing a check with intent to defraud, organized fraud, fraudulent use of personal identification information, grand theft of $100,000 or more, fraudulent use of a credit card, and making false entries on books of a corporation. He allegedly used his personal Square account to input 219 credit card numbers and completed 150 transactions over 23 months, creating 27 altered invoices. He was arrested and released on bond; arraignment is scheduled for June 2 in Viera.
freemalaysiatoday.com
George Condo created Antipodal Reunion, which sold for £1,035,000 in Sotheby’s online Contemporary Curated sale. The piece led the auction, with other notable results including Yayoi Kusama, Andy Warhol, Fahrelnissa Zeid, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Damien Hirst, Invader, and a multi-country participation, as Sotheby’s reported a record online painting sale total and multiple prices exceeding estimates.
sothebys.com
George Condo, Antipodal Reunion, 2005 sold for £1,035,000 / $1,299,753 as the top lot in Sotheby’s Contemporay Curated online sale. The sale total reached £5,097,250 / $6,401,127, the highest for an online sale at Sotheby’s.
robbreport.com
Bonhams launches a non-profit online art auction to raise funds for medical workers, with contributions from Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Julian Opie and others; proceeds go to the NHS Charities Together Urgent Appeal.
gq-magazine.co.uk
The British GQ piece discusses the art dealer Inigo Philbrick, recounting how he advised on investments for Fine Art Partners (FAP) and helped source Rudolf Stingel works, including a Picasso portrait sold through Stingel’s market and Philbrick’s flipping practices. It notes Philbrick’s rise as a prominent Young American dealer with galleries in London and Miami, and describes how these activities intersected with high-value contemporary art transactions and potential future valuations.
kvraudio.com
Vienna Symphonic Library (VSL) releases SYNCHRON-ized Solo Strings, a collection consisting of two violins, one viola, two cellos and one double bass, derived from VI Solo Strings I, Solo Violin 2 and Solo Cello 2. The library features an enhanced sample database optimized for the Synchron Player with improvements in playability and realism, real-time tempo/stretch capabilities, and expanded articulation release sounds.
broadwayworld.com
The article discusses the Columbus Symphony's plan to rebroadcast a sold-out performance featuring the Il Cannone violin by Niccolò Paganini, played by Concertmaster Joanna Frankel under Music Director Rossen Milanov at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus on May 15, 2019. The instrument, Il Cannone, was constructed in 1743 by Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri and is usually housed in Genoa, Italy.
okcmoa.com
Three Transformative Acquisitions at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art discusses Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, its impact on audience reach, and the museum’s subsequent acquisition of Wiley’s Jacob de Graeff (2018). The article mentions artists such as Charles Willson Peale, Thomas Lawrence, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, George Bellows, and Kehinde Wiley, and notes the museum's acquisition of Wiley’s work as a response to the exhibition.
kulturmeister.com
Caspar David Friedrich created Nebelschwaden in 1820, a 42.5 cm by 32.5 cm oil painting. It was stolen on July 28, 1994 during an exhibition at Kunsthalle Schirn in Frankfurt and reappeared in August 2003. The incident involved three thieves who overpowered a security guard; the paintings were valued at least 50 million Deutsche Marks.
cso.org
The article discusses how Chicago Symphony Orchestra string players rely on luthiers to maintain and restore their instruments, citing firms in Chicago and experiences of players like Kenneth Olsen and Alexander Hanna; it mentions Stradivari and Guadagnini instruments and the role of luthiers in keeping instruments in top condition.
republika.rs
The basic public prosecutor's office in Bečej filed charges against P. J. (48) of Stara Pazova and N.S. (51) of Temerín for the theft of a expensive violin owned by musician Lajko Feliks. A third person, N. J., from Stara Pazova, involved in concealment, reached a plea agreement and received six months of house arrest. The violin, a Domenico Montano from 1800 made in Cremona, Italy, was stolen in Bačko Petrovo Selo and later found undamaged in Novi Banovci; initial estimates of its value were around 500,000 euros, but an appraisal set it at 250,000 euros.”,
deccaclassics.com
Nicola Benedetti, Benjamin Grosvenor, and Sheku Kanneh-Mason are releasing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Philharmonia and Santtu-Matias Rouvali. The project features their collaboration as former BBC Young Musicians finalists and includes recordings of Beethoven’s folk songs with Gerald Finley. The album is set to be released on May 31st via Decca Classics.
cso.org
The article describes John Becker, a luthier based in Chicago, who maintains and repairs instruments used by Chicago Symphony Orchestra members. It highlights his background at Lyon & Healy, Bein & Fushi, the founding of John K. Becker & Co., and his collaborations with CSO musicians, including Kenneth Olsen's 1727 Stradivari cello.
deccaclassics.com
Nicola Benedetti announces a new recording titled Violin Café, releasing 21 November. The project features a new ensemble including Samuele Telari, Plínio Fernandes, Thomas Caroll, Brìghde Chaimbeul, and Yume Fujise, with repertoire including works by Sarasate, Wieniawski, Ponce, Maxwell-Davis, Bloch, Debussy, and traditional Scottish pieces.
tagesspiegel.de
The Mendelssohn-Bartholdy hereditary estate has received ownership rights to Pablo Picasso's pastel Head of a Woman (1903) from the Blue Period from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Julius H. Schoeps, founder of the Potsdam Moses Mendelssohn Center and heir to Ernst von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, represents the family as spokesman for restitution claims dating back to NS-era seizures. The article covers provenance research and the historical context of Nazi-era expropriations that affected the Mendelssohn family.
arhiva2.alo.rs
Article about Predrag Jovišić and Nenad Jovišić who allegedly carried out a high-profile theft of violin owned by Lajko Feliks. The instrument, a Domenico Montano violin from around 1800 valued at about 265,000 euros by expert, was recovered after the suspects were arrested. Feliks is described with nicknames including the devil's violinist and Paganini from Vojvodina.
artnews.com
Larry Gagosian is selling Pablo Picasso’s 1903 drawing Head of a Woman for $10 million. The work was returned by the National Gallery of Art to the heirs of Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy amid restitution discussions, and Gagosian claims the heirs approached him intending to sell the work.
artic.edu
The article discusses El Greco’s The Assumption (1577–79), its commission for the church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo, its scale as the central painting of the altar, and its later history including sale to Sebastián Gabriel de Borbón and the painting’s presence in later collections; it notes the work’s role in El Greco: Ambition and Defiance at the Art Institute of Chicago in spring 2020.
news.artnet.com
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC returned Pablo Picasso's 1903 drawing Head of a Woman to the heirs of German-Jewish banker Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, who had sold it under duress to the Nazis. One week later, dealer Larry Gagosian is privately offering the work for at least $10 million.
udiscovermusic.com
Cellist Redi Hasa, who has performed with Ludovico Einaudi, announces his first solo album, The Stolen Cello, to be released on 4 September 2020. The recording reflects his survival story during the Albanian conflict in the early 1990s and his new life in Italy.
artuk.org
The article discusses Arthur Jeffress, his Red and White party in 1931, and his art collecting, including works such as Giorgio de Chirico's The Painter's Family (La Famille du peintre) (1926) and Francis Bacon's Three Studies for a Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne (panel 3 of 3) (1965). It also mentions Deakin, Loraine Conran, and the Southampton Art Gallery connection leading to the bequest relationship with Tate. Amounts are not specified in the provided excerpt.
kvraudio.com
Sound Magic announces Cadenza Viola, a new virtual instrument powered by the Neo Orchestra Hybrid Modelling Engine. The release highlights the use of Italian handmade viola authenticity, SSL 9000 series console, U47 and M49 Neumann microphones, and Modeling Legato technology with Hybrid Vibrato and Tremolo for realistic real-time control.
slippedisc.com
The article discusses Redi Hasa, a musician who stole the Academy cello during his escape from Albania and is set to release a solo album The Stolen Cello, after working with Ludovico Einaudi and appearing in projects like Seven Days Walking.
artnews.com
Pablo Picasso's pastel Head of a Woman, held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., was returned to the heirs of banker Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy to avoid potential litigation. The restitution follows a long-running case involving Picasso works and the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy family, including a 2009 settlement with MoMA and the Guggenheim and prior disputes over a Blue Period Picasso.
news.artnet.com
The article reports that Hauser & Wirth is donating 10 percent of its online sales proceeds to the World Health Organization. It notes that Iwan Wirth cofounder, Manuela Wirth, and Marc Payot discuss the initiative, and mentions upcoming online exhibitions by George Condo with solo shows by Lorna Simpson and Rashid Johnson, following an inaugural online show of Louise Bourgeois drawings.