Posted on 01/29/2014 12:26:19 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
Chicago violin dealer Stefan Hersh, a close friend of Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond, said he was stunned when Almond called to tell him that robbers Monday evening took the priceless Stradivarius violin he plays.
"I've never heard of an armed robbery for a violin," said Hersh, founder of Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins, which buys and sells rare instruments.
Hersh, also a violinist himself, examined the Lipinski Stradivarius with Almond when the instrument's anonymous owner offered to loan it to Almond. Almond has played the instrument in concert since 2008.
Hersh said his initial presumption was that the stolen violin would be recovered quickly, because "there's no black market for them."
However, "the more time goes on, the more organized this looks," Hersh said.
When it comes to security for a fine instrument, the basic protocol is to make sure you don't leave it unattended, Hersh said. Some insurance contracts will not pay out if the instrument is left unattended in a car or elsewhere. That explains why people might see the members of a string quartet bring their instruments into a diner when they eat, he said.
Almond "is on the very cautious side" when it comes to security for the violin, Hersh said. "He and I wouldn't be friends if he wasn't."
The owner or curator of a famous painting can develop a close and emotional bond with it, Hersh said. But as a musician, when a person uses a Stradivarius to make music, "the bond is even closer." In Almond's case, playing the Lipinski Strad joins him to a tradition going back to the violinist Tartini and including a whole bunch of interesting people, Hersh pointed out.
As a musician and violin dealer, Hersh worries that the stolen violin might be affected by rapid changes...
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
Thanks for posting, I'll be watching for updates. 8~)
Did they survive? I mean, did they grow up to be common sense conservatives?
In Elementary and JHS I hated being in Orchestra. Band was so much more fun (for a (pseudo) trombonist).
My grandson spent $8000 on a Euphonium and now has given it up. And there is no market for used (pro-quality) Euphoniums. His parents are a little mad about it.
His father, also named Frank Almond, directed all the choirs at SDSU when I was a music major there in the 70s. Talk about intense - he had a heart attack at 40 - but the guy was awesome, and the choir would go to hell and back for him.
Thanks....Had an old dictionary years ago with pages and pages of translations of initials.
Ow. Is it a Besson? Someone will buy it, not for 8,000.
My father was one of 9 kids, raised on a farm during the depression. My grandmother had been a music teacher before she married, so she insisted that each child learn a different insturment so that they could have their own band. My dad got the cornet. I don’t know what happened to the instrument; I never saw it. But my aunts became music teachers on flute, cello, & piano. One of my uncles played the violin, and he passed it on to his son and granddaughter. They’ve all passed on now.
But, it is amazing to think that a depression era farmer could afford all those instruments for the kids. Not only that, grandma put away enough money so that each child could have one year of college paid for when they graduated high school. After that the older ones helped the younger ones, and they all graduated and earned advanced degrees.
I did not know that. The apple does not fall far from the tree.
I don’t know. I’ll ask the next time I talk to them. I’m not too sure what is going on there — first he dropped music and then he dropped out of college altogether. It’s a touchy subject.
He’s working at Lowes and performing at open night mikes (guitar) at various clubs around town. He wouldn’t get away with that if he were my son — but he’s my grandson, so I have no say.
I have 2 granddaughters playing flute and a grandson who plays marimba and another grandson who is playing everything — piano, sax, clarinet, trumpet. Then I have one who plays baseball and one who rides horses — no music in that family.
Kool.
Cool. College was more affordable then (and even so when I attended a multiplicity ~35 yr ago.)
The oldest graduated from the Naval Academy (free) and Columbia U and sent money home. The next oldest (girl) had a scholarship to The Redlands and sent money home. One went to UC Berkeley (tuition very low at that time) and one to UCLA (same deal) and the others went to Fresno State (low tuition). But, there were still books and room and board to pay for. They all worked.
Still, in the depths of the Depression there was not a lot of money to go around, and a lot of kids never had a chance at college at all. I think that it was remarkable that my grandmother 9a college graduate, herself) had theforesight to provide for her children.
Certainly true for my fam for 160 years to date.
Just keep them playing. If they do, they understand, if not, that’s cool too.
This thing would be nearly impossible to resell. It almost has to be a nut job billionaire that ordered the theft.
Look for a fake strad to turn up smashed to bits to throw investigators off. Customs and TSA agents are probably going to harass violinists and kids in school orchestras when they travel for the next few months.
Too bad this thing happened. Smuggling out expensive violins was one way people had to get money out of the country.
Gotta stop hanging out with violinists and cellists! Violists and bassists are usually fairly humble.
definitely part of the secret is the wood.
I see your arrows. (erros) :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.