The ‘golden period’ instrument was recently acquired by an anonymous buyer, who loaned it to the museum on condition that it be played in a concert series
The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston, MA, US, has acquired on loan the ‘Kneisel, Grün’ Antonio Stradivari violin. Made in 1714 during the master luthier’s so-called ‘golden period’, the instrument was recently sold by Carriage House Violins in Newton, MA, which facilitated the loan to the museum.
The ‘Kneisel, Grün’ is named after Franz Kneisel (1865–1926), the founder of America’s first professional string quartet, which gave the premiere of Dvořák’s ‘American’ Quartet, as well as the first US performances of the Debussy and Ravel string quartets, and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht. His students included Joseph Fuchs, Lillian Fuchs, Eudice Shapiro, Sascha Jacobsen and Louis Kaufman. Kneisel acquired the violin from Jakob Grün, his former tutor at the Vienna Conservatory. It has also been played by Weigang Li, now a tutor at the Tianjin Juilliard School, and was recently played by violinist Daniel Kurganov – an experience he wrote about for The Strad.
The MFA plans to put the ‘Kneisel, Grün’ on display in its instrument gallery from 20 October, as per the terms of the loan agreement. There are also plans for it to be played regularly in a concert series. ‘Carriage House Violins and the MFA will work together over the next year to present 3–4 concerts, all occurring at the MFA,’ the shop’s president Robert Mayes revealed to The Strad. ‘Two confirmed performers will be Daniel Chong, first violinist of the Parker Quartet; and Nathan Cole, concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.’
The anonymous buyer of the ‘Kneisel, Grün’ had previously bought a Nicolò Gagliano violin from Carriage House Violins. ‘He felt the Strad should be played by a higher-level musician, and hopes one day to play it himself,’ said Mayes. ‘While the MFA boasts an extraordinary overall instrument collection, its fine string instrument collection has room for growth.’ He therefore suggested the instrument be loaned to the MFA. ‘The buyer was thrilled with this suggestion but did not want the violin to simply remain behind glass. As a result, we came up with a unique contingency: the violin could be displayed, but a concert series featuring world-class violinists performing on the Stradivari would be an integral part of the loan agreement.’
Top photos: Carriage House Violins. Other photos: Daniel Kurganov
No comments yet