The article discusses Michael Duff of Berg Bows, who aims to recreate a Nikolai Kittel cello bow once owned by Janos Starker. Starker endorsed Duff, and Duff is developing a synthetic version of the bow that remains affordable for young musicians; the piece notes Duff’s process, including studying data from “The Bows of Nikolai Kittel,” borrowing the original bow for two days, and making design choices such as using African blackwood for the tip.
The article reports that Mark Landry, a homeless busker in Montreal, had his violin stolen and that L’Orchestre Métropolitain arranged to buy him a replacement from Maison du Violon. The orchestra’s president, Jean Dupré, and Francis Lapointe of Maison du Violon described helping Landry by providing a new instrument at cost to restore his ability to perform.
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston has been gifted the 1714 Joachim-Ma Stradivarius violin from alumnus Si-Hon Ma’s estate. The instrument, previously owned by Joseph Joachim, was purchased by Ma in 1967 and is loaned temporarily to NEC student Alexi Kenney, who recently received an Avery Fisher Career Grant.
The New England Conservatory becomes the new owner of the 1714 Stradivarius violin, which Joseph Joachim bought in 1849 at age 18 and used as his principal instrument. The instrument was left to NEC by Si-Hon Ma’s estate, a former NEC graduate and Cleveland Orchestra member, who died in 2009. Ma had purchased the instrument from the Rembert Wurlitzer company in New York in 1967, and it had previously been owned by an American collector, Hugh Long.
The Seattle Times reports that Rafael Carrabba, a Seattle-based master luthier, and his four-person team restored a famous Stradivarius cello worth about $10 million that had been stolen in 2004 and later recovered near a Los Angeles dumpster. The project, conducted in Carrabba’s Queen Anne shop, unfolded as a demanding, emotionally taxing restoration that the craftsman described as almost spiritual.
The article reports that information about the sale of a Stuart cello, previously bought by Sergei Roldugin, was posted on the Reuning auction house site and then disappeared from several pages. It notes that the cello, named Stuart, had been played by Stephen Honi ngberg and that two other Stradivari cellos named Paganini (1707) and Gore-Booth (1710) were discussed, with Paganini sold in 2012 and Gore-Booth in 2013. The archived page still shows the instrument with photo. The piece references journalist Alexander Kolyandrotch and concerns about reputational risk related to Roldugin’s mention in the Panama Papers. The article mentions that the purchase date is around January 2016 and that the buyer’s identity and price are not being sought.
The Moscow Times reports that Reuning & Son Violins removed sale details for the Stradivari cello known as the “Stuart,” said to have been bought by Sergei Roldugin, a close associate of Vladimir Putin. The cello, made circa 1732, was reportedly purchased for $12 million according to Putin, via a Kremlin statement. The piece notes the instrument’s association with Emperor Friedrich Wilhelm of Germany and mentions Antonio Stradivari as the maker.
The article discusses the recovery of a Stradivarius owned by Roman Totenberg, a renowned violinist, which had been stolen from his office at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge 35 years earlier and recovered last year. It mentions details about Totenberg, his daughter Nina Totenberg, and the thief Phillip Johnson, with context from NPR.
The article reports that violinist Rachel Barton Pine, who plays the Joseph Guarneri del Gesu violin insured for almost $20 million, had a dispute with an American Airlines captain who would not allow the instrument as carry-on. The FAA and American Airlines allow such instruments on a first-come basis if they fit in the overhead bin or under a seat, but the pilot insisted on not allowing it. Pine ultimately did not board that flight, and American apologized to her.