The article reports that philanthropist Dr. Herbert Axelrod gave the first violin section of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra 15 Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu violins, with each instrument valued at about $2 million for the violins and $0.25–1 million for the second violin section tools; total gift valued around $50 million. Axelrod also donated Stradivari cellos and additional instruments to the Smithsonian and the National Museum of American History, including Stradivari violins previously donated in 1997 and Amati violins in 2000.
Nokuthula Ngwenyama, an up-and-coming viola soloist, is described as about to receive her master’s in theological studies and is exploring the relationship between music and spirituality. The article profile appears in the Harvard Gazette and is dated June 6, 2002.
Min-Ji Kim, a 22-year-old cellist from Seoul, won first prize at the 17th Irving M. Klein International String Competition. She performed Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Santa Rosa Symphony conducted by Alasdair Neale in Herbst Theatre. The Maurice Kursh Memorial Award, worth more than $10,000, includes future engagements, and Kim also won the $200 Allen R. Weiss Memorial Prize for the commissioned work by Ronald Caltabiano. Second prize went to Teng Li, a Chinese violist, with Walton's Viola Concerto; Caroline Campbell won third prize with Sibelius Violin Concerto; fourth and fifth prizes went to Kathryn Eberle and Adam Barnett-Hart. The competition began with rounds at SFSU’s McKenna Theater.
The Moscow police seized a group including a militiaman attempting to sell an Amati violin, dated around 1712, for $200,000. The instrument was reportedly provided by the state to Russian musician Igor Nadin, whose violin had been stolen in April 2002; the price in Western markets could reach several million dollars.