The 5 Most Amazing Violins

[@susanbryant6516]

The Huberman/joshua Bell violin story is intriguing

[@lindablosser8707]

As a lowly Luthier in a violin shop in my younger days I had the privilege to hold (while sitting in a chair with the strictest order, NOT to dare get out of it), I had the privilege of holding and inspecting a Strad. It was brought in for a general checkup by a woman who owned it from NY. She would only allow the owner of the shop that I worked in to service the instrument . What a rare opportunity for me as young Luthier early in my career to experience ❤

[@Richard-hv5hh]

My uncle, Sir Ian Stoutzker owned the great Guarneri Vieuxtemps which was up for sale at $20m. He kept it under his bed in London.

[@rayb2034]

I went to the Ashmoleon to see their violin collection and it is true that the Messiah just looks like a violin made yesterday. It is pretty amazing. They also have an Andre Amati dated 1564. But the violin that really stood out for me was the Nicolo Amati 1649. This violin is exceptionally beautiful. It is well worth the visit just for the violin collection let alone everything else there.

[@garygreen7552]

Your comment about one of the instruments being occasionally played is a reminder that these instruments need to be played to keep them in good condition. A quartet of Strads owned by the Smithsonian Institute were used regularly by the Julliard Quartet for recordings. A former colleague of mine had chance to play the cello of that quartet when she was in Washington, DC. She was in the right place at the right time and had a few minutes with that marvelous cello. I enjoyed hearing your comments about these violins. Thank you.

[@mellissadalby1402]

Hi Olaf, If I ever make it back to Australia, I will have to pop into Brisbane and drop in for a quick visit.

[@JumperSig]

I once played a violin made in 1620. Where the bridge sat, the belly was sunken in slightly. It was very forgiving with the playing of it. It was not loud, and had a mellow sweet tone. The Cleveland Orchestra is the caretaker of it. It is valued at around $87,000. It is Italian made. Blonde in color.

[@ElsweyrDiego]

The Hellier have to be in the list! it's so unique with the carvings and pearl inlaids! i have a copy and it's so much beautiful

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

It would definitely make a 10 list 😊 There are a bunch more that also have amazing stories.

[@2LUV3VIOLin28]

@@AskOlaftheViolinmakerI want to hear more of these stories. Can you do a pt. 2?

[@johncebasek6252]

My violin is modelled after Il Canonne! And it does have a deep rich sounds!

[@2LUV3VIOLin28]

That is so cool! Mine is just another copy of a strad. I looks great but it does not sound the best. She has very golden sounding tone but it is a bit weak. I still love her though!

[@reconphil]

I knew the luthier who repaired; rediscovered the Huberman a few years before he did it. Ed Wicks repaired a couple of my violins in the late 1970's. I believe he has since passed away. There is a full article from the Danbury News Times dated June 1, 2013 which is accessable online. It also mentions John Burnette who convinced Mr. Wicks to play cello & repain instruments. Mr. Burnette was my music teacher for many years up until he passed.

[@davidtaylor8822]

The Messie Strad is an amazing piece of work. I've seen it a couple of times. Last time was just 3 years ago when I found myself at a loose end in Oxford early one morning. I got to the Ashmolean just after it opened and soon found myself alone in a room with the Messiah (and several more Strads and Amatis). I must have spent 30-40 minutes just examining every millimetre of it (albeit through a glass cabinet!). It felt like a huge privilege just to be alone with a great work of art like that.

[@jackmundo4043]

Really enjoyed it. Thank you.

[@robdgaming]

I've seen the Titanic's bandleader's violin. It's preserved at The Titanic Experience in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There are many other exhibits from the tragedy there. The museum is on the site of Titanic's building ways. The yard that built her, Harland and Wolff, is still in business as a shipyard, but has sold off much of the historical part of the yard for redevelopment.

[@jvin248]

It would be good to see a deeper dive on Sam Zygmuntowicz. Examples of work, his theories on how he is carving to meet his ideas and so on.

[@jvin248]

One quick SZ overview kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6S3Z6KtisqGrrM

[@nickiemcnichols5397]

Read the book The Violin Maker. He’s in there.

[@amandas.6500]

Great stories! I didn't know about the titanic one!

[@eelsie]

I’ve had the privilege to see the titanic violin in Belfast. These days it’s owned by a collector so isn’t shown often but the titanic museum in Belfast has been loaned it for a couple years. Such a beautiful instrument

[@LilHoss]

It would be cool if you did a video on "The Best / Most Famous Violin bought at a Flee Market or Garage Sale". Best Bargain Violin. 👍

[@missbeans]

Love this walk through history!

[@MckayStradivarius]

Well done great info!

[@paganina2330]

Great excursion. Loved it. I‘m always curious about Strads and Guarneris and so on. Are they really unbeatable? I remember several concerts where modern instruments were played and it was amazing. That’s why I like the story of the Zygmunowicz. I think, a very well made modern instrument can keep up with a Strad. But it‘s just my opinion. Everybody in the violin scene is longing for a Strad or Guarneri, but is it really that important? I‘ve played really good instruments and must say that a few years ago I fell in love with a very good German master violin. I wouldn’t exchange it for the authentic Jacobus Stainer my friend is playing (I don’t tell her name for privacy but she is a famous violinist and even she is jealous of my German violin). It might be luck to find such an instrument but then it’s a match. I wouldn’t want a Strad because you’re always afraid that somebody would steal it. You and the violin would always be in danger. Just read the book Gone of Min Kym. What a devastating story about a stolen Strad and a destroyed life of an awesome musician just because of the name Stradivarius. I think she’s an amazing violinist anyway with or without Strad. I‘d be happy to see more modern instruments in the concert halls.

[@generaladmi]

What a wonderful story. Thank you very much

[@wakingtheworld]

Now THIS was a most fascinating video, Olaf. Thank you for widening my knowledge on these beautiful instruments.

[@hartmutlindemann9735]

Not all the facts are right. Paganini never lost his Cannon del Gesu violin due to gambling. It had been another instrument earlier in his career he gambled away!

[@wakingtheworld]

@@hartmutlindemann9735 Even more fascinating then!

[@hartmutlindemann9735]

Perhaps even more fascinating, Vuillaume didn't have a son. The Messiah was named by the violinist Delphin Alard, his son in law. @@wakingtheworld

[@charityshopguitar8790]

I have seen this violin at The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, which is not that far from where I live. They have many other very beautiful instruments there as well, including guitars.

[@RED-cy7ig]

These violins have amazing backgrounds.

[@dvides89]

Wonderful video, please talk about the Vieuxtemps 😍😍😍

[@Richard-hv5hh]

My uncle Ian Stoutzker owned it.

[@VicariousAdventurer]

Apparently some Strads are harder to play. I saw a clip where Nicola Benedetti said hers was hard work. By contrast, another said that playing it was like getting a palette with colors he never had before.

[@royoser9956]

Great video, thanks!

[@vendelius]

Wonderful Discourse

[@bennyblanko3]

Nice reminder of these famous violins. Yes, please make another video, with perhaps less commonly known stories, and theft, treachery, debauchery, sex, violence, drinking and gambling, and hopefully some lesser known makers. That book about Tarisio "The Violin Hunter" is pretty good, and has a bunch of stories. I know we had the sickness coming through, but they used to have the plague, which killed so many makers. Anyway, yeah, more stories about lesser know ... i.e. not Strad or Guarneri (unless it is Ole Bull).

[@catherinewhite2943]

Very interesting!

[@rikspector]

Olaf, They all look the same to me:)😁😁 Cheers, Rik Spector

[@blender_wiki]

Great video 💪🏿💪🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

[@JohnKlopp]

Very interesting list. 👍

[@MrLebedevivan]

Очень интересно! Спасибо!

[@liamnevilleviolist1809]

1:11 - I'm happy... and also... *not* happy to say that I can relate to this "problem" myself: I play poker - I once played a Hold-'em game with the blinds being $2 / $5 and when I wanted to "call" an opponent for a large bet of $400 (they had me out-stacked by about $1800 more)- they said that they had about $5k in their wallet which they actually openly showed me - all $100 bills! I wanted to raise with my 4-of-a-kind (aka quads), and they had no problem with it when I said I'd bet my $1500 violin. All of that money and my violin went into the pot. I lost against him because he had a*very unlikely* straight-flush! Ouch. I kept in touch with him and continued to play against him for about 5 years (he's actually a nice enough fellow). Anyway, about a year or so later after losing to him, he then "sold" me back my violin for $3000 in cash, outside of the poker room. I got my violin back and cherish it more than anything else to this day, and will never make that move again! It happens. Rare. But it happens. So I don't doubt the Paganini story for a second haha. Fellow musicians/poker players: don't make the same mistake and bet your beloved instrument as some people have! Also: "hello Olaf!" - Liam N from Perth WA.

[@DavidBergman1776]

smh

[@chrismoule7242]

I looked these up on Wikpedia: it says that according to the Ashmolean the top plate of the Messiah Strad came from the same tree as another violin, made by P.G. Rogeri in 1710

[@dennismeehan11]

Interesting video. I think you missed what I think is an equally amazing violin, the Hellier Strad. It is interesting from a decoration standpoint but also Stadivarious kept it until just before his death. But equally important is the man who he sold it to. Hellier, an English nobleman.

[@asherwade]

Dear Olaf, ...could you also make a part #2 of this video. I'd really like to see an analysis of a, say, 1763 or 1767 Tommaso Balistrieri violin(s), the Guadinini violins, which are suppose to be the most loudest of the classic violins, and another [probably poor quality, but famous} Albert Einstein's last violin (as he dad own several but were either stolen by the Nazis or folded, lost or given away-???

[@paganina2330]

Oh yes, the Einstein violin would be very interesting.

[@ErisDysn]

I have a question. I have a violin, and whenever I tune the E string to E5 the E string whistles when I play an open string, but it doesn't if I tune it to anything below F4 do you know why this might be?

[@nickcarroll8565]

If he doesn’t answer you, I’d bring it to a local luthier to look at it. There are so many reasons why it could be. Incompatible string, sound post, bridge, nut, poor quality instrument, etc.

[@pe.bo.5038]

You mentioned Vuillaume's!To me, Hillary Hahns Vuillaume(s) is an absolut beast,that trumps any Stradivari and Guaneri.As far as I know,she has a Strad-copy and an Amati -copy Villaume.Could you offer any detail????🤔

[@mgazvini]

Hello Olaf I have a Antolus Stradivarius Cremonensis . Is it good Violin? B.R. Kian

[@fragslap5229]

Luthiers ALWAYS say "you can see it's very different work" but they practically NEVER point to anything SPECIFIC that the viewer himself can see.

[@JamesCello]

Next: Most Famous Cellos!

[@Skinny_Karlos]

I studied classical guitar (performance and education) at Sydney Conservatorium back in the 1990's. I took up the violin and later the viola as second/third instruments around that time (I even tried the cello though that didn't take like the violin did) and quickly became quite obsessed with the violin - I'm actually just taking a break from playing/practicing right now. Violins do make a wonderful sound as you say and from early on with the guitar, and later the bowed instruments I play, I spent much time and diligent effort on sound/tone production so the right hand was essentially given far more attention than the left hand on all the instruments which I play. I would watch videos of John Williams playing guitar and, in front of a mirror, endeavour to have my right hand in the same position, to achieve a like tone and, I do believe, for the most part succeeded. My tone on all instruments is, I believe and have been told, of a high standard though I'm not of concert standard in my playing on any instrument though I teach on all the instruments earlier stated. I couldn't imagine or tolerate a time in life without the violin - I practice/play the violin/viola far more now than I do guitar though I play in guitar trio and should dearly love that. Should I suddenly be unable to play due to injury/illness that would genuinely break me. I would truthfully be of a mind needing medical help as the depression would likely bring me to a place that no one would happily visit. I play an Eduard Reichert 1913 violin and I'm happy and comfortable with the beauty of the sound/tone we produce together. Olaf, I genuinely enjoy your videos and I'm glad you choose to live here in God's country - The Antipodes. Keep up the good work. :).

[@arsinoeivlostprincess4228]

I have a Mark C White Boston 1876 violin but I can't find anything about it. I did see one for sale at a dealer in Australia at least ten years ago on line. Anybody? Thanks! It's been in it's case for 60 years.

[@WhiteDragon689]

Olaf, I wonder of anyone has done a study of the value these instruments were originally sold way back when?

[@randolphfriend8260]

💜

[@cafiend]

The Titanic Violin: A professional musician’s cruise ship gig instrument.

[@yogibear6363]

I guessed Messiah and Huberman. I thought Lady Blunt might make the list.

[@d.l.loonabide9981]

Hi, I recently acquired a very inexpensive violin. This is not a used instrument. After I left the shop, I noticed that the finish smells like model glue. I'm guessing that over time the toxic ingredients in the finish will lose their horrible odor. Is there any means to speed up the off gassing process? I feel like I'm putting my health at risk every time I'm near this instrument.

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

I know what you mean... If you live in a dry environment, you can leave the violin out of the case for a while... That should speed things up. Just beware high humidity

[@ahh1180]

I have a Harry Vatiliotis violin I know it’s not worth much about $10,000.00 but it has an incredible sound and made for me

[@nickcarroll8565]

So much of the worth of an instrument is its maker/history. But if you only care about sound and it’s great acoustically, I’d take that over a museum piece any day.

[@IvandelMuntSoler]

I was watching a 3yo video about "dark secrets" from you and I came here to see if this was corrected. What is that hissing sound that comes and goes on most of you videos? Please buy a micro, a luthier cannot afford sound like that! :D

[@cafiend]

Josh’s violin isn’t really red. Kiwi shoe polish calls that color “cordovan.”

[@shubus]

I have a movie to recommend on KZbin, the Academy Award winner, "The Last Repair Shop" - school student instrument repair.

[@leonscottkennedyre4]

Isn't the titanic violin also a strad? I remember hearing his wife gifted it to him.

[@liamnevilleviolist1809]

5:12 "Yoshua Bell"? - Surely the American pronunciation is "Joh-shoo-wah". I don't think he needs *European-ing* up hahah. Just an observation.

[@brianasselta9237]

No love for Nicolas Lupot??

[@AskOlaftheViolinmaker]

Lot's of love for Nicolas... Just too many to choose from!

[@brianasselta9237]

@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker im partial I literally just sent pucs of my fiddle to tarisio in nyc yesterday and they are taking a look at it. It may be a lupot from 1815. So ive been trying to find as.much about him as possible! Love tour videos!

[@DanaBellefeuille]

i thought u were the most amazing violin maker

[@robbicu]

I am admittedly a Titanic nerd, and also a musician, and I believe without a doubt that the Titanic violin belonged to Wallace Hartley, BUT... the violin in question was never on Titanic. From a musicians perspective, it doesn't make sense. Hartley made a living playing music, and there is no way he would have used an off the music store shelf German violin for his professional work. Records indicate that the German violin was a gift from his fiancé to play in pubs whilst he was at home. I'm sure that Hartley's work violin was likely a fine Italian instrument befitting the professional work level he was expected to play at. Also, even more compelling... what violinist would shove their violin in a suitcase and abandon the bow and the violin case? In this situation, Hartley and his fellow musicians were asked to start playing long before there was even a noticeable list, so it's quite unlikely that Hartley would have had a suitcase with him as the ship was sinking. The current violin and suitcase definitely belonged to Wallace Hartley, of that there is no doubt, but they were high and dry on land in Colne, Lancashire. Hartley's body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett almost two weeks after the sinking. There is no way that a violin would hold up in sea water that long. One hundred years later, the cheap gift violin was found, the mystery surrounding Titanic at fever pitch since the movie came out, and the story made up to fit the plot, not the other way around.

[@DanaBellefeuille]

the einstein violin sold for a ton of money also.

[@christianklein5774]

also wenn die geschichte stimmt was zwar unrealistisch kilnkt stammt meine aus farnkreich und wurde vor dem krieg autioniert und war dan in Frontaschnitten frnakreich jugualvien rusland und dan ab 1955 unbenutz.

[@RobertBrown-w8m]

Gotta clean shirt?

[@stephenberson7236]

Sorry but it is hype that brings those nonsense prices. The difference between these supposed fine sounding violins to those considered less fine are so slight the mass majority of listeners wouldnt know the difference. Just because its very old and used by a dead master violinist the crazy price is all based on ego and elitist mentality. If you judge the violin only on its quality of sound the price of any violin shouldnt be more that $5,000. From $60 to $5,000 should the realistic range of price.

[@PaperGrape]

'Hype'? ... lol, and I suppose ancient coins shouldn't sell for any more than a quarter minted yesterday? Or a Shakespeare original shouldn't sell for more than a freshly printed book? Because it's just words, right? Yes, history and provenance actually do matter. Earth-shattering realization. Edit: and you must not be a violinist, or at least you haven't played the top tier of contemporary violins selling in the 30-40k range from makers who have waiting lists for their new violins.

[@stephenberson7236]

@@PaperGrape Yes, hype exists in all fields. Provenance is purely a mental condition. Sure fine violinists can possibly discern the difference but a medium quality to a Strad isnt that great for the price increase to the millions. what counts is the sound and ease of playing. Ego shouldnt add to the cost.

[@PaperGrape]

@stephenberson7236 "historical importance doesn't matter at all." Is basically what you are saying. Don't you think that's a bit naive? When it comes to the playable qualities of the instrument, you are generally right (though not at the price of 5k). But in regards to price, of course historical importance, not hype, of the first extremely fine violins to ever be made is going to vastly elevate the cost, just like the historical importance of anything else that sells high at auction.

[@stephenberson7236]

@@PaperGrape if you didnt know the violin belonged to a master but rather someones grandfather who was a shoemaker how much do you think the multi million dollar violin would cost. It is hype and the ego involved.

[@PaperGrape]

@stephenberson7236 if you know it was made by the first person to ever perfect that form and set the standards for 3 centuries to come, it has tremendous historical importance and provenance. Try convincing people they should only sell a 14th century Japanese katana for a couple hundred bucks,since we can machine one for a couple hundred bucks today. "Sorry, your national history, the signature of that particular historical maker, and the ancient process that was used don't mean anything. We can machine it." Nobody thinks like that. "Hype" is a ridiculous term to describe history and provenance.