NEW YORK (AP) – A violin made by the famed Antonio Stradivari in 1714 has the potential to become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold when it goes up for auction today at Sotheby’s in New York.
The auction house is estimating the value of the ‘Joachim-Ma Stradivarius’ at USD12 million to USD18 million. If it sells at the top end of that range, it could best the USD15.9 million paid in 2011 for another Stradivarius, the ‘Lady Blunt’, made in 1721 and named by Guinness World Records as the most expensive instrument ever sold at auction.
Sotheby’s Americas president and head of global business Mari-Claudia Jimenez said Stradivari made the violin during his ‘Golden Period’, which began around 1700 and was marked by an improvement in his craftmanship.
“So this is the peak of his output,” Jimenez said. “This is the best violin of this era.”
Sotheby’s said the violin’s preservation is remarkable, and its ownership history extraordinary.
It’s named for two of its famed owners – violin virtuosos Joseph Joachim of Hungary, who lived from 1831 to 1907, and Si-Hon Ma, who was born in China in 1926, moved to the United States (US) in 1948 and died 2009. It is believed that legendary composer Johannes Brahms was influenced by the Joachim-Ma when he wrote his Violin Concerto in D Major because of its rich, resonant tone, and that Joachim played that violin during the concerto’s 1879 premiere, according to Sotheby’s.
