Messiah Stradivarius

The Messiah on display at the Ashmolean Museum

The Messiah-Salabue Stradivarius of 1716 is a violin made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona. It is considered to be the only Stradivarius in existence in as new state.^[1]

The Messiah, sobriquet Le Messie, remained in the Stradivarius workshop until his death in 1737. It was then sold by his son Paolo to Count Cozio di Salabue in 1775, and for a time, the violin bore the name Salabue. The instrument was then purchased by Luigi Tarisio in 1827. Upon Tarisio’s death, in 1854, French luthier Jean Baptiste Vuillaume of Paris purchased The Messiah along with Tarisio's entire collection .^[2] "One day Tarisio was discoursing to Vuillaume on the merits of this unknown and marvelous instrument, when the violinist Jean-Delphin Alard (Vuillaume's son-in-law), exclaimed: 'Then your violin is like the Messiah: one always expects him but he never appears' ('Vraiment, Monsieur Tarisio, votre violon est comme le Messie des Juifs: on l'attend toujours, mails il ne paraît jamais' ^[3]). Thus the violin was baptized with the name by which it is still known."^[4]

The Messiah was bequeathed by the Hill family to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England for preservation for future violin makers to learn from^[1]. As a condition in the will of the former owner, the Museum can never allow the violin to be played.

The violin is in very good condition, as it has apparently never been played.^{[citation needed]} It is one of the most valuable of all the Stradivari instruments.

See also

• Stradivarius
• Antonio Stradivari
• List of Stradivarius instruments

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "The Nippon Music Foundation and the ‘Lady Blunt’". Andrew Hill (tarisio.com). http://tarisio.com/wp/the-nippon-music-foundation-and-the-lady-blunt/. Retrieved 16 June 2011. 
2. ^ "The "Messiah" Stradivari Violin". Cello Heaven. 2008. http://www.cello.org/heaven/hill/messiah/messiah.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-15.  [ Messiah Stradivari]
3. ^ Stradivarius, Dirk J Balfoort, Sdgwick and Jackson, London (undated)
4. ^ The Hill Collection of Musical Instruments, David D. Boyden, Oxford University Press, London, 1969

External links

• Messiah Stradivarius at Cozio.com
• Messiah Stradivari