A gift to the nation: the 1690 ‘Tuscan, Medici’ Stradivari viola has been donated to the Library of Congress
Jason PriceDavid and Amy Fulton and the family of Cameron Baird have gifted the 1690 ‘Tuscan, Medici’ Stradivari viola to the Library of Congress in a transaction valued at $30 million. I spoke with Fulton earlier this week to discuss this historic sale.
Charles Beare (1937 – 2025)
Jason PriceCharles Beare, one of the most respected violin experts in history, has died aged eighty-seven. His death marks the end of an era. He will be greatly missed.
Resurfacing after seventy years: the Stradivari that shaped Heifetz
Jason PriceJascha Heifetz owned three important violins over the course of his long and distinguished career. The 'David' Guarneri and the 'Dolphin' Stradivari are now in the custody of important institutions and will probably never again be sold. The magnificent ‘Heifetz, Piel’ Stradivari of c. 1731, which was owned by Heifetz during the most important years of his career, has been hidden from public view for the past seventy years. It will be sold by Tarisio Private Sales this spring.
Back Stories: A data-driven look at wood choice
Jason PriceEvery time I take a trans-continental day-flight, I try to write a Carteggio. The lack of distraction is sublime and wonderfully productive. Today, I’ve written some observations I made from data we extracted from the Cozio archive about a year ago about makers' tendencies and preferences regarding wood choice. I know it’s nerdy but I find this sort of exercise fascinating: expertise in the 21st century is truly a 360 degree adventure, the more ways we can study makers and instruments, the more we know. The following is a lot of data. I hope this makes sense, the air is thin up here.
