Posted on 12/31/2005 5:17:29 AM PST by Cagey
A $175,000 violin that was reported stolen turned up Friday on the steps of a San Bruno church, and San Francisco police said it was never stolen after all.
The violin, made in the 1700s by Italian craftsman Nicolo Gagliano, was recovered after a passer-by spotted it outside St. Roberts Church on Crystal Springs Road, according to police Sgt. Neville Gittens.
After the violin was turned over to San Francisco police, investigators again questioned Sabina Rhee-Nakajima, the San Francisco music student who told police Thursday that the violin had been stolen from the trunk of her car, which had been towed from a Western Addition supermarket parking lot.
Rhee-Nakajima then changed her story, Gittens said, and admitted that the violin had never been stolen and that she had filed a false police report.
Officers would not say whether Rhee-Nakajima was attempting to steal the violin or whether she would be charged with a crime. Gittens said she had not been offered leniency for its return.
The violin, along with three bows, was recovered undamaged.
The violin was on loan to Rhee-Nakajima from a music dealer who was attempting to sell it on behalf of its owner. Violin shops around the U.S. were alerted after the reported theft. Experts said it would have been extremely difficult to sell such a well-known stolen instrument or even to play it in public.
Early reports that the car towing company was involved in the violin's disappearance were also false,..........
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
< Ok. Scale of 0 - 10.
0 = dumber than a bag of hammers
10 = Albert Einstein
So where is the music dealer on this scale? >
Loaning out violins on approval is very common. It just appears that something else is going on here.
got it
How long has your daughter been playing?
Just to show how good these kids are, they play Handel's Messiah (Part I) every Christmas from the original score. No cuts, no dumbing down. They give 3-4 concerts a year from an extensive repertoire of Baroque, Romantic, and modern music. The soloists are all headed for conservatories, including Juilliard.
I'm sure it's the good influence of all those serious musicians, but I'm amazed at how good she's become. She won't be a career musician, she doesn't have either the exceptional talent or the drive for that, but she will always be a good competent amateur who enjoys music.
follow up ping
Dear randita,
Thank you very much for the ping!
What a truly strange story!
Classical Music Ping List ping!
If you want on or off this list, let me know via FR e-mail.
Thanks!
sitetest
Strange story
And she will love having that ability, and love you for encouraging her. What a nice story!
Happy New Year.
It is fascinating to dig into any hobby, craft, profession, etc. and see how it layers. Special magazines devoted to to the craft, special groups, sub-groups, factions. The deeper one goes, the higher the price! Not that I know a good bow from a cross bow, but I think it's neat there is a market for specialists like custom bow makers. Viva La Free Enterprise!
I have lain awake for weeks, worrying myself to death about that danged fiddle. (heavy sarcasm)
And isn't that the real goal? At 10, Tonto Junior shows real promise, and as I said on the previous thread on this topic, we're already looking at upgrading our piano. He's on his first week of learning to play the guitar at home, and has expressed some interest in a violin. Still, the percentage of young people who will translate their ability to a professional career is small.
I don't believe he has the passion required to become exceptionally good, and that's OK. He has too many other interests, and he's not going to dedicate more than an hour or so a day to practice.
My hope for him is that he'll mature in his abilities, and with that, will come an increase in his enjoyment of music.
Besides that, with his future careers as a Professional Golfer, Brain Surgeon, and Constitutional Scholar, who much time will he have to dedicate to a fourth professional pursuit?
The first time my daughter bought a 'real viola' it was a painful experience. 3 months of slogging aroung Houston. She finally settled on one that was made by a friend of a friend. The guy had won many awards for his violins and violas and made one for the principal violinist in Miami, I believe.
Then there was the accident. The original maker who could have fixed it had passed away.
Her professor had called in some favors. The new one was love at first site. I told her she pays for the next one.
I took a violin and bows to a music dealer. $50 for the violin. $750 for the Max Wunderlich bow. And that was almost 20 years ago!
Watch out! There are some guitarists who would tell you that electric guitars and amplifiers are an abomination. Some purists don't even like the accoustical guitars that are amplified. And don't even start a conversation about which brand/guage of strings are the best, LOL!
Thanks for the update. The story sounded suspicious from the get go.
If you don't use GHS Boomers .010"-.046" then you're a liberal puke!
;-)
Not on my Alvarez 12-string!! Never! ;-)
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