Messiah Stradivarius
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The Messiah-Salabue Stradivarius of 1716 is a violin made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona.
The Messiah, sobriquet Le Messie, remained in the Stradivarius workshop until his death in 1737. It was then sold by his son Paolo to Count Cozio di Salabue in 1775, and for a time, the violin bore the name Salabue. The instrument was then purchased by Luigi Tarisio in 1827. Upon Tarisio’s death, in 1854, French luthier Jean Baptiste Vuillaume of Paris purchased The Messiah along with Tarisio's entire collection .[1] "One day Tarisio was discoursing to Vuillaume on the merits of this unknown and marvelous instrument, when the violinist Jean-Delphin Alard (Vuillaume's son-in-law), exclaimed: 'Then your violin is like the Messiah: one always expects him but he never appears' ('Ah, ça, votre violon est donc comme le Messie; on l'attend toujours, et il ne parait jamais'). Thus the violin was baptized with the name by which it is still known."[2]
The Messiah was bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England. As a condition in the will of the former owner, the Museum can never allow the violin to be played.
The violin is in very good condition, as it has apparently never been played. It is one of the most valuable of all the Stradivari instruments.
The authenticity of the Messiah has been called into question by Stewart Pollens, a conservator at the Metropolitan Museum.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "The "Messiah" Stradivari Violin". Cello Heaven. 2008. http://www.cello.org/heaven/hill/messiah/messiah.htm. Retrieved on 2008-09-15. [ Messiah Stradivari]
- ^ The Hill Collection of Musical Instruments, David D. Boyden, Oxford University Press, London, 1969
- ^ Melik Kaylan. "Connoisseur's Guide False Messiah?". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2001/01/10/0110connguide_print.html. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
[edit] External links
- Messiah Stradivarius at Cozio.com
- Messiah Stradivari
