Stradivarious violin stolen/recovered leads to thoughts...

[Phil Thien]

A few weeks ago a Stradivarius violin was stolen from a musician leaving a concert. He was attacked by Taser-wielding criminals that stunned him and made off with a Stradivarius violin (named the Lipinski after a previous owner/user I believe a century or two ago).

The local media indicated the violin was worth between five and six million dollars. Wow. And that there are approx. 300 Stradivarius violins known to exist. If they are all worth five million, then there are a billion and a half dollars worth of Stradivarius violins in existence. Double wow.

People around the criminals started to put together pieces of the puzzle (in terms of involvement) and then fingered the guys. More than one public figure had stated these violins belong to the world, to the audiences, they belong to the public trust. And in this case, I'd say the reaction by the people close to the criminals would indicate that is true, very encouraging.

I wonder how long would it take for me to train my ears to pick-out a Stradivarius from another violin. My hearing is decent. And the next question would be, if they are easy enough to identify, are they actually better? Would I PREFER the Stradivarius in double-blind tests? Is a double-blind test possible with an instrument (you'd think the musician would know what he is playing)?

Any good books on these instruments? I really enjoyed watching the documentary on Steinway pianos, I think I'd love reading about violins, and anything known about the life of Stradivarius and his contemporaries. Movies/documentaries would also be great.

BTW, to finish the story, the violin was recovered, is in good shape, and was used for a public performance just last night. I also find it encouraging that they got it right back out there, that the owner continues to loan it to the musician, that the public trust continues. It has also opened my eyes to all the public performances put on by these outstanding musicians, I have plans to hear the musician and his violin soon.

[BTW, there is a lot more to the story that I'm not reporting, like the fact that Tasers shoot confetti with the serial number of the weapon, when fired, and the police already had traced the Taser back to the buyer, who was involved. And at least one of the criminals mentioned that it was good they "only" had to stun the musician to get the violin, are you kidding me? Only? The guy fell and hit his head, that is a very violent assault. I hate to think of a world where criminals think stunning us is non-violent.]

[Mike Circo]

I've had a similar question around the ability to notice the difference in a $5,000,000 violin from one costing much less. That is around $100 bottles of wine and $250 bottles of scotch. I doubt my pallet or ear (in the case of a violin) is good enough to tell. I think it is psycological in many regards. The perception of excellence colors your senses.

A bigger question around the violin is the question about why would anyone carry a five million dollar anything out and about with no protection. If it has historical significance and such incredible value, why just carry it out to your car like any old instrument?

[Phil Thien]

A bigger question around the violin is the question about why would anyone carry a five million dollar anything out and about with no protection. If it has historical significance and such incredible value, why just carry it out to your car like any old instrument?

I don't think he does any longer. At the minimum, he will be escorted by others. I'm sure this latest incident caused many people with particularly valuable instruments to reevaluate their security measures.

Hopefully none of the measures will make it too much more difficult for the public to enjoy fine musicianship.

[Larry Browning]

A bigger question around the violin is the question about why would anyone carry a five million dollar anything out and about with no protection. If it has historical significance and such incredible value, why just carry it out to your car like any old instrument?

I would think that something so rare and valuable would have limited value to a thief. Who would buy it from him? It would be a very short list. And therefore the number of thieves wanting steal it would also be short.

[terry mccammon]

I cannot play a musical instrument but I have had the opportunity to talk about such things with a few members of the Chicago Symp. They are very clear that yes there is a difference between the great instruments and the very good.

I will say that while I will not pay for it, there is a significant difference between some (but not all) scotches at the serious price points and what I am willing actually purchase with my money. You can tell, it is better and whether it is worth it or not is up to the buyer. I am too cheap.

[Phil Thien]

I would think that something so rare and valuable would have limited value to a thief. Who would buy it from him? It would be a very short list. And therefore the number of thieves wanting steal it would also be short.

I suppose there is always a chance a wealthy and shady individual would pay to have such an instrument stolen, but if you have enough money to entertain that notion, you may as well just buy one.

At the very least, you still have to protect yourself from stupid criminals that are too dumb to know they won't be able to sell the instrument anywhere.

[Larry Browning]

At the very least, you still have to protect yourself from stupid criminals that are too dumb to know they won't be able to sell the instrument anywhere.

That is true to a certain extent, but is it really my fault I got robbed because I left my door unlocked? Is the criminal less guilty because I made it easier for him? I just really hate blaming anyone or anything other than the criminal for a crime .

[Mel Fulks]

The better instruments can heard in the cheap seats ,so power is one quality. The prices have been run up by corporations buying them as investments ,I have friend who considers that evil. I don't see any difference from a stamp collector who only uses email. Some have stolen instruments to PLAY them. There was a deathbed confession from a professional violinist who had stolen a Cremonese violin and performed with it for decades.

[Erik Loza]

Seriously: Where did these clowns think they were going to be able to sell this thing? Pawn Stars?

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Michael Weber]

Interestingly, there is a wood story connection to violins of that age. Had something to do with the age of the wood when it was harvested having grown to maturity during a very cold period in history (mini ice age?). Thus the tight dense growth rings lending a unique charismatic sound. My daughter plays the violin and everything about them is fascinating. There is a remarkable difference in tonal qualities of violins even those made at the same time by the same maker using similar wood. It's also possible to change tonal qualities somewhat by moving the sound peg internal in the instrument. Lots of scientific studies have been done trying to exactly pinpoint why the Strads are so remarkable. The wood explanation makes the most sense to me.

[Ernie Miller]

There have been several double blind tests concerning violins. Here's a video of a recent one. I doubt that I could spot the Strad with any consistency, but I was privileged to hear a Strad cello played from about 5 feet away and the sound, especially in the bass, was amazing.

[Rick Potter]

Let me put it this way. Stradivarius is to musicians as Festool or Altendorf is to woodworkers .

Rick Potter

[John Coloccia]

There have been a few tests. Modern violins are almost universally chosen as sounding better. I've said this many times: In my opinion, the best instruments that have ever been made are being made right now, today.

[Adam Cruea]

Having been a musician, I can certainly tell you that yes, you can tell certain families of instruments by their tones. Anything made of wood will have different tones depending upon quality, where the wood is harvested, etc. Some lines of instruments, depending on quality (amateur, professional, semi-professional) also use different woods, period.

Are instruments made today with the technology of today better? Probably, yes, as you can have very good consistency with manufacturing processes. I remember going to the Fox factory to watch bassoons being made, and it is very awesome to watch. I got to play a couple of different bassoons, and there's even a difference in feel between the different time periods the instruments were made as well as tone and other such things. The best I ever played was a Heckel from Germany, made of Tiger Maple I believe. My college instrument was made of Sugar Maple from Renard (a division of Fox).

Even back in 1998, the student version was $7500. The Heckel was something along the lines of $50,000, and a Heckel I heard from 1980 which sounded fairly different than both others was around $45,000.

[edit]And for the people asking. . .when it comes to things like this, you don't steal it to flip a profit (and most common thieves realize this). You steal it out of appreciation of the craft and the item. Find a dumb thief, pay them a pittance to steal it, they give it to you, and you get a masterpiece for much cheaper. Can you broadcast out that you have it and show it off? No, but that's not the point of owning it. The point is to appreciate it.

[Mike Henderson]

I would think that something so rare and valuable would have limited value to a thief. Who would buy it from him? It would be a very short list. And therefore the number of thieves wanting steal it would also be short.

Larry's exactly right. Musical instruments at that level - and there are other famous makers besides Antonio Stradivari - simply cannot be sold illegally. The sale or ownership would attract too much attention. The only thing the owner could do would be to hide it away. And that, of course, makes it somewhat safe for a musician to carry the instrument around without much protection.

There are stories of musicians who have left extremely valuable instruments in a taxi or on a train. The musician is frantic but the instrument is almost always returned.

Mike

[My wife is a professional musician (cello)].