Boston – It is considered one of the best violins that the world has ever heard, and it is ready to go to the auction block later this week. The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius was made in 1714 by the famous violin maker Antonio Stradivari.
Valued at $ 12 million to $ 18 million
The violin is currently appreciated at $ 12 million to $ 18 million dollars. If it is sold at the top of that range, it would break the record for the most expensive instrument ever. (A Stradivarius of $ 15.9 million beat in 2011).
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty images
“It was made during the golden period by Antonio Stradivari,” said Mari-Claudia Jiménez, Sotheby’s Americas President and head of Global Business. “So this is the highlight of his output. This is the best violin of this era. Brahms wrote the violin concert specifically for this violin, and it was debuted on this violin in the mid -19th century.”
This violin was also owned by the 19th-century violinist Joseph Joachim before he came into the hands of Si-Hon Ma, who acquired it in 1969. After his death in 2009, Ma’s estate donated the violin to the New England Conservatory in Boston. There he obtained a master’s degree in 1950.
The proceeds go to student fairs
The conservatory now sets up the famous violin for auction with proceeds that go to student fairs.
“I can’t believe that they do that to get more fairs for us,” said NEC Jazz vocalist -student Aviana Gerler. “[Scholarships are] Extremely important. It was probably my biggest factor to make a decision to get here. I was really lucky to receive a good grant from the school and I don’t think I could have that if I didn’t. “
“It’s really important,” said NEC Jazz Piano -Student Jake Walters. “It is a very expensive school and that helps a lot of people. It is clear that it is a great violin, but if nobody plays it, I don’t think it’s worth being around.”
The violin goes on Friday for auction at Sotheby’s in New York.
Brandon Truitt
