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Source-linked reporting
komonews.com
The article reports that a cello estimated at $250,000 was stolen from a Central District home in Seattle. The instrument is described as an 1890 Enrico Marchetti cello with a blue and black carbon fiber case, and police say it was taken along with bows and other items after a burglary on the 1600 block of 24th Avenue; investigations and a reward update are included.
ktla.com
The article reports that Mark Meng, 57, from Irvine, is charged in federal court with bank robbery and wire fraud related to stealing multiple valuable violins and then robbing a bank. Violins including an 1823 Lorenzo Ventapane valued at $175,000 and an 1870 Gand & Bernardel valued at $60,000 were among those stolen and sold to a Los Angeles violin dealer. If convicted, Meng could face up to 20 years in federal prison. The FBI investigated the scheme.
theviolinchannel.com
The Violin Channel reports the theft of Sarah Rommel’s 1890 Enrico Marchetti cello from her Seattle home around May 4–5, 2024. The instrument was in a blue-black carbon fiber Accord case with a Charles Espey bow inside, and a Sartory bow was also stolen in a separate bow case; another cheaper bow in a nearby case was left behind. Seattle Police Department case number 24-122155 has been notified.
tarisio.com
Jason Price profiles Luiz Bellini (1935–2015), a New York violin maker, noting four mint-condition violins from Bellini offered in the May 2024 New York sale after being kept by the maker and discovered by his family. The piece covers Bellini's training, early work with Guido Pascoli, and a foundational apprenticeship at the Wurlitzer firm under Simone Fernando Sacconi.
stauffer.org
The Doré Quartet, students of the String Quartet course, received four historic Italian instruments on loan: Giovanni Battista Ceruti violin (Cremona 1815), Gaetano Antoniazzi violin (Cremona 1885), Giovanni Pistucci viola (Naples circa 1910), and Celeste Farotti cello (Milan 1906). An official ceremony at the Sala Stradivari coincided with a performance of Schubert and Shostakovich.