Violinist Gil Shaham has been granted the long-term use of a 1719 Stradivarius violin from the Rare Violins In Consortium

Gil Shaham

Gil Shaham

Violinist Gil Shaham has been granted the long-term use of a 1719 Stradivarius violin, on loan from the Rare Violins In Consortium.

Shaham, 49, has been playing the violin since the end of last year, not least for his recent recording of the Beethoven and Brahms Concertos with The Knights ensemble.

‘I am very grateful to the anonymous benefactor and Rare Violins In Consortium for the use of this Stradivari violin … playing this remarkable violin is life-changing for people like myself,’ Shaham said. ‘Imagine being given a new voice … imagine finding you can say things differently and even say different things … hats off to this organization and its supporters for improving musicians’ lives,’ Shaham has said.

Watch: Aspen Music Festival & School presents ‘Moments of Musical Revelation’: Gil Shaham

Watch: Gil Shaham plays Prokofiev at the Proms

Watch: Gil Shaham performs Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto

In Consortium was founded by Bruno Prize and Ziv Arazi in 2018 to help match benefactors, investors and fine instrument owners with instrumentalists as safely and effortlessly as possible. It also aims to provide benefactors with a number of ways to reduce their cost of ownership and increase the long-term realisation of their investment.

Previous recipients from the Rare Violins In Consortium include Kevin Zhu and Nathan Meltzer.