Lipinski violin
Posted on 01/28/2014 2:37:27 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
A rare Stradivarius violin on loan to Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond was stolen during an armed robbery Monday night.
The instrument, known in musical circles as the Lipinski violin, was taken around 10:20 p.m. Monday in a parking lot in the rear of Wisconsin Lutheran College on W. Wisconsin Ave., police said. Almond had played a concert at Wisconsin Lutheran Monday evening as part of his Frankly Music series.
In a 2008 feature on the violin, Chicago violin dealer Stefan Hersh said the Lipinski violin was comparable in value to another Strad that sold for more than $3.5 million in a 2006 auction.
The instrument was on indefinite loan to Almond from its anonymous owners. Almond has characterized them as people with "strong ties to Milwaukee." It's a common practice in the music world for the owners of such exquisite instruments to loan them to virtuosi such as Almond.
The violin's early owners included the virtuoso Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), known to listeners for his "Devil's Trill" Sonata. The instrument has also belonged to Polish violinist Karol Lipinski (1790-1861), whose name has stayed attached to it.
Local music writer Elaine Schmidt, who held the instrument during a 2013 interview with Almond, described it as "light, far lighter than one would expect, and an absolutely gorgeous example of craftsmanship."
During that 2013 interview, Almond explained that the Lipinski, is "finicky" about temperature and humidity, responding differently some days than others.
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
Lipinski violin
Ah...the old Tommy Gun in the Violin Case trick....
BOLO! Oh no! This was a major story when the Lipiinski violin was found in a vault in Milwaukee and loaned to the Frank Almond and the MSO. The sound is just incredible! I hope that they find it and that it suffers no damage.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin ping list.
Simply round up all the criminal masterminds who also happen to be world class concert musicians.
Classical music ping
Or, who have clients who are world class musicians!
Betting its not random. It was setup by the guy who had the violin or somebody close to him.
Peter Sellers did it.
That could be anyone who knew he was playing a concert that night. I’m surprised that he didn’t have an armed guard with him.
Why would he have an armed guard just because he’s walking around with a $3.5 million violin? /s//
Because it doesn’t belong to him?
5.56mm
This has all the earmarks of the classic white elephant kind of theft, whether its an artwork, famous jewels or a super-expensive and rare musical instrument, like this Lipinski violin. The thief either didn’t know what he had when he stole it, or knew what he had but underestimated ow impossible it would be to get rid of it and make anything like the value the instrument has from any possible buyer.The violin is now radioactive.The thief’s only hope is to get ransom for it, and thieves this stupid usually screw up that process too, and wind up getting nabbed,and going to prison.
I had a passin “acquAintance” with a guy in the early 70s who I assessed as a no-good, and found out 6 years later, had gotten a job in the shipping dept. at Chicago’s Art Institute and decided to ship a number of very
valuable paintings to nis own house along with the legitimate destinations
for other paintings. He then demanded a huge ransom payoff, made the even bigger mistake of showing up at the ransom rendezvous wearing. gun in his belt, immediately got arrested, and send to prison for years. When he was released he made the news again when he blew his brains out.
As if there weren’t enough sax and violins in the world.
Whatever it is it is just awful. Insurance does not return the instrument which is magnificent. It will be a great loss if it is not found undamaged and intact.
Having said that, I look at every one I encounter at a garage sale.
Did they leave a note?
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