Stradivarius violin expected to break auction records

A rare violin created by the legendary Antonio Stradivari in 1714 will be auctioned on Friday at Sotheby’s auction house in New York. With an estimated value of between $12 million and $18 million, the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius could become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold at auction, surpassing the Lady Blunt, which fetched $15.9 million in a private sale in 2011.

The violin comes from Stradivari’s famous “golden period”, considered the pinnacle of his mastery. “So this is the pinnacle of his production,” said Mari-Claudia Jimenez, Sotheby’s Americas president and head of global business.

Named after its two most distinguished owners, the Hungarian virtuoso Joseph Joachim and the violinist Si-Hon Ma, the instrument has significant historical and artistic value. Joachim used it to premiere the Brahms Violin Concerto, a work believed to have been influenced by the violin’s rich, resonant tone.

Stradivarius violins have long been revered for their unrivaled tonal qualities. Violinist Joshua Bell, who has owned a Stradivarius violin since 1713, describes playing one as “having access to thousands of colors to paint from, instead of dozens“. Violin expert Christopher Reuning says, “Stradivari was the greatest violin maker who ever lived. This is beyond dispute“.

The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius instrument was in Ma’s possession from 1967 until his death in 2009, after which it was donated to the New England Conservatory in 2016. Now, the conservatory is auctioning off the instrument to fund what will become its largest student scholarship program.

Three main groups are expected to bid for the violin: musicians who dream of owning a Stradivarius, collectors who appreciate its historical significance, and investors looking for a high-value asset. “We try to keep violins out of that crowd whenever possible,” Bell joked about the last category.

The auction starts on Friday at 11:15 a.m. (Eastern time), and the music world is watching closely to see if history will be made again.

Source: Classic FM și npr.org
Photo source: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images