Would you part with a priceless heirloom to support future generations? The New England Conservatory is answering that question with a remarkable endowment they are bestowing on their students—and it’s all thanks to the $11 million sale of a violin previously in their collection. A Stradivarius violin, to be exact.
Created by renowned violin maker Antonio Stradivari in 1714, the instrument was made during what is considered Stradivari’s “golden period.” Though Stradivari produced other instruments like cellos and violas, he was most lauded for the craftsmanship on his violins. The auctioned violin is considered one of the best ever made, part of a family of instruments deemed by Stradivari historian Toby Faber as “without parallels in any other field of human endeavor.”
Adding to its fame is the violin’s lineage. Better known as the “Joachim-Ma” Stradivarius, the instrument was previously owned by virtuosos Joseph Joachim and Si-Hon Ma. Joachim, a Hungarian violinist who lived from 1831-1907, likely played the violin when he performed with composer Johannes Brahms. Brahms himself was also under the influence of the storied Stradivarius, and is believed to have composed a piece, “Violin Concerto [D Major],” specifically for the instrument.
Si-Hon Ma, who lived from 1925-2009, was a famous Chinese-American violinist composer who last owned the Stradivarius before gifting it to the New England Conservatory. Ma completed his master’s from the school in 1950, and went on to invent the Sihon mute. With profits from his invention, Ma purchased the Stradivarius violin for his own work, further enriching the instrument’s history.
The New England Conservatory partnered with Sotheby’s New York to auction off the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius. Pre-sale estimates for the violin predicted to fetch anywhere between $12 and $18 million. The final sale fell just short of the estimate, ringing in at $11.3 million. This figure is nonetheless impressive, and makes the Joachim-Ma sale the second most expensive of an instrument in history. The current record holder is for the 2011 sale of another Stradivarius violin, the “Lady Blunt,” which sold for $15.9 million.
The profits from the Joachim-Ma sale have singlehandedly generated the largest scholarship fund for the New England Conservatory in its history. New England Conservatory president Andrea Kalyn says, “The sale is transformational for future students, and proceeds will establish the largest named endowed scholarship at New England Conservatory. It has been an honor to have the Joachim-Ma Stradivari on campus, and we are eager to watch its legacy continue on the world stage.”
The recent $11 million sale of the storied “Joachim-Ma” Stradivarius violin has given the New England Conservatory its largest scholarship endowment to date.
Made in 1714 by renowned instrument maker Antonio Stradivari, the violin was previously owned by Hungarian virtuoso Joseph Joachim, and is thought to have inspired composer Johannes Brahms’ “Violin Concerto [D Major].”
It was later owned by another composer and virtuoso, Si-Hon Ma, who received his master’s from the New England Conservatory in 1950 and gifted the Stradivarius to the school following his death in 2009.
The sale of the “Joachim-Ma” Stradivarius is the second-highest grossing sale of a musical instrument in history, second to another Stradivarius violin sold for $15.9 million in 2011.
Sources: A Masterpiece of Sound: The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius; This Storied Stradivarius Violin Made in 1714 Just Sold for Over $11 Million at Auction
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