Why would anyone Buy a $10 Million Violin

[rounder]

I was clicking around and found this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlW59YwjJ4U

[LAPlayer]

Because (without watching the video) a special violin with provenance has prestige and investment potential. Buy it and loan it to a concert-master or violin soloist and your name, as well as the musician playing the instrument will be promoted. A real head-game for ultra-wealthy.

[Wade Hampton]

Highly sought Stradivarius violins routinely cost that much, and ambitious violinists buy them and use them.


whm

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by LAPlayer

...Buy it and loan it to a concert-master or violin soloist and your name, as well as the musician playing the instrument, will be promoted. A real head-game for ultra-wealthy.

For some reason this phenomenon appears to be pretty much confined to string and keyboard instruments, even in the popular-music world - I've traveled in classical-music circles, and I've yet to hear of (for instance) a historically-significant oboe or French horn named for its famous owner/player...

[J Patrick]

…when instruments become that expensive you buy them because you can.

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

and ambitious violinists buy them and use them.

Can you name a few?

And I do mean violinists known (and appreciated) as such who bought one themselves....

I've yet to hear of (for instance) a historically-significant oboe or French horn named for its famous owner/player...

I think there's a good reason for that: instrument evolution. Even an early Amati violin can still be sought after for modern day (chamber) music practise because it will have been "upgraded" long enough ago that many players might not even realise it wasn't built that way. You can't really do that with an oboe or horn. Nor with keyboard instruments btw....

[Talk2Me]

Why? Because they have the money. I've seen guitars that cost tens of thousands of dollars that people also buy. That also amazes me.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by RJVB

Can you name a few?

And I do mean violinists known (and appreciated) as such who bought one themselves....



.

I was curious about this so I looked around.

Joshua Bell plays a 1713 Strad he purchased for $4mil in 2001. Maxim Vengorov plays a 1727 Strad he bought for 947,500 pounds sterling in 1998. David Garrett purchased his 1736 Guarneri for 3.5mil euros in 2022.

But quite a few world-class soloists play instruments on loan from foundations or private collectors.

Ten mill is quite a lot even for a Strad.

[casualmusic]

Originally Posted by LAPlayer

Because (without watching the video) a special violin with provenance has prestige and investment potential. Buy it and loan it to a concert-master or violin soloist and your name, as well as the musician playing the instrument will be promoted. A real head-game for ultra-wealthy.

Besides pride of ownership, owners who lend instruments enjoy opportunities:
. Meet, greet and be recognized by musicians and conductors
. Attend exclusive gala events and private parties
. Socialize with fellow sponsors, which could:
. Open doors to amateur ensemble practices
. Open doors to mutual interests, and possible business connections
. Please their music loving spouses and family
. Could open doors for children with music interests


Top dollar violins from violin makers in the 1600s and 1700s, and from the 1800s are scarce and each instrument is famous amongst violin aficionados as Trigger is known to guitarists. These instruments were played by famous performers and wealthy amateurs. Violins made by less famous workshops for regular musicians and enthusiasts sell for much less.

There is a list of 282 violins known to be made at the workshops of Antonio Stradivaris, and similar lists for Guarneri, Almaty, Bergonzi, etc.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List...us_instruments


The majority of top dollar violins are on loan to famous, and soon to be famous performers, from music societies and wealthy owners.

Concert halls, orchestras, and top violinists believe that great violins make superior Music.

Classical music has enough wealthy enthusiasts who want to help provide top violins to top performers.

In some cases music societies do fund raising drives to acquire violins. In other cases wealthy folk want to own the violins and lend them to musicians.


.

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

Joshua Bell plays a 1713 Strad he purchased for $4mil in 2001.

According to the Wikipedia article on him he basically traded in a previous Strad he owned. It doesn't interest me enough to hunt down the fine print about this but I really doubt even such adulterated demi-gods have the free cash to buy a multi-million instrument out-of-pocket. If they don't get them on load from a maecenas (which would undoubtedly be publicised in most cases) they'll probably get a pretty serious loan or mortgage from a bank. Which would seem like a relatively safe investment, too.

"Gibson Stradivari" is kinda funny btw

BTW: I see that one was estimated at 14 million in 2019. With values like that simply possessing and insuring it becomes a very costly affair!

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by RJVB

According to the Wikipedia article on him he basically traded in a previous Strad he owned. It doesn't interest me enough to hunt down the fine print about this but I really doubt even such adulterated demi-gods have the free cash to buy a multi-million instrument out-of-pocket. If they don't get them on load from a maecenas (which would undoubtedly be publicised in most cases) they'll probably get a pretty serious loan or mortgage from a bank. Which would seem like a relatively safe investment, too.

"Gibson Stradivari" is kinda funny btw

BTW: I see that one was estimated at 14 million in 2019. With values like that simply possessing and insuring it becomes a very costly affair!

I think the trade-in value should be considered as part of the purchase price.

[TBman]

I think $9,000,000 of lessons would be a good idea first

[Neil K Walk]

I ask the same question whenever I read about someone who never took lessons buys a $7K boutique acoustic guitar. It’s a “the grass is always greener” sort of thing. At some point you filter it out because you can’t keep up with the Joneses and the rich and famous have their own realities.

[LAPlayer]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

I think the trade-in value should be considered as part of the purchase price.

Oh .......... it is....... 😜

[rllink]

Originally Posted by Neil K Walk

I ask the same question whenever I read about someone who never took lessons buys a $7K boutique acoustic guitar. It’s a “the grass is always greener” sort of thing. At some point you filter it out because you can’t keep up with the Joneses and the rich and famous have their own realities.

I think for some people there is a point where money is not the driving force. They see a $7,000 guitar and think it might be fun to learn to play the guitar. They don't go looking for a deal, they buy it and show up. It just as well could have been a $1600 guitar. It just happened that it was a $7000 guitar that caught their attention.