New England Conservatory Auctions Stradivarius Violin

The prestigious Boston music school sold a Stradivarius violin for $11.25 million USD this week, raising funds for the school’s students.

Driving the news: On Friday February 7th, the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston, MA auctioned off the “Joachim-Ma” Stradivarius violin. The “Joachim-Ma” was made in 1714 by the luthier Antonio Stradivari and played by Joseph Joachim—for whom Johannes Brahms wrote his violin concerto—and Si-Hon Ma—a prestigious NEC graduate. Ma donated the violin to NEC in hopes it could one day be used to fund student scholarships. NEC partnered with the Sotheby’s auction house when selling the violin.

Gimme the dirt: The “Joachim-Ma” violin sold for $11.25 million USD. Bidding for the instrument began at $8 million, although Sotheby’s had anticipated it would sell for between $12 and 18 million. While very few instrumentalists can afford to drop upwards of $10 million on a violin, these priceless instruments are often purchased by collectors and loaned to players. In Canada, the Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank offers an opportunity for young players to compete to borrow Stradivarius and other world-class instruments for three years at a time. Hopefully the “Joachim-Ma” will be played by plenty more talented violinists in years to come.

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Sara Schabas

Sara Schabas is a Dora-nominated soprano, writer and yoga teacher. She has performed and created leading roles with companies including Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Dayton Opera, and Aspen Opera, and is a former member of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists. Currently based in Montreal, she is a doctoral student at McGill University — where she recently received the Wirth Vocal Prize — and editor of Art Song Canada magazine.