Here’s a nasty bit of news, from the Los Angeles Times:

Joshua Bell, on tour as soloist with the London Philharmonic, claims that a thief posed as the classical musician in Zaragoza, Spain, and stole his $38,000 watch.

A Bell lookalike on Thursday was able to impersonate the violinist and convince the front desk at a five-star hotel to give him a key to Bell’s room, a rep for Bell said in a release.

Bell was performing at the time of the burglary with his priceless 1713 Stradivarius.

Once inside the room, Bell says, the man called the front desk and asked for help opening the safe. The thief met security at the door wrapped in a towel as if he’d just gotten out of the shower; without checking ID, the staff opened the safe.

“I was amazed at how easy it was for this to occur,” Bell said in a release.

The thief also made off with Bell’s laptop, cash and other personal belongings.

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John Terauds

John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.

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