This Violin Sold For Over $11 Million Dollars, And It Was Handcrafted In 1714
At a Sotheby’s auction, a violin handcrafted in 1714 by the famous Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari was sold for $11.25 million by the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston. The proceeds from the sale will be used to create a new scholarship opportunity for students at the music school.
“After years of individual use by our students, now, we can establish the largest named student scholarship program in the history of NEC, honoring our mission to educate and train the next generation of musicians,” said Andrea Kalyn, president of the NEC.
“While it has been a privilege to have one of the world’s finest violins, this sale will be transformational for our students.”
The violin is known as the “Joachim-Ma” Stradivarius. It is made of maple and spruce woods and covered with a rich red varnish.
It is named after two of its most well-known owners, violinists Joseph Joachim of Hungary and Si-Hon Ma of China. When Ma died in 2009, the violin was gifted to the New England Conservatory.
Stradivari made the instrument during the peak of his career. He was born around 1644 in Cremona, Italy. When he was 22 years old, he began crafting his own instruments.
He also made cellos and violas, but his violins were what put him on the map. For over three centuries, his violins have been highly sought after.
In the mid-19th century, Joachim bought the recently sold violin when he was just 18 years old. He played it at the 1879 premiere of Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major, adding major value to the violin.
Ma, the instrument’s other namesake, was a violinist, teacher, and inventor of the Sihon mute, a device that dampened the violin’s sound without the need for removal when not in use. Ma was born in 1925 near Canton, China.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
He immigrated to the United States and worked as a musician in New York for years. He performed with the Stradivarius, which he bought with the money he earned from his invention.
Initially, the Joachim-Ma was estimated to go for between $12 million and $18 million, which would have made it the most expensive musical instrument ever auctioned.
However, it fell short of the record, selling for $10 million ($11.25 with fees) from an anonymous buyer. The “Lady Blunt” Stradivarius still holds the title for most expensive violin. In 2011, it sold for $15.9 million.
In the past decade, only four students from the New England Conservatory have used the Joachim-Ma, each for just a year or two.
“Now we really have the chance to have it benefit so many more students—generations of students to come,” Kalyn said. “It’s really about what’s the most powerful use of the instrument.”
More About:News