Einstein’s violin fetches half a million dollars

Einstein’s violin fetches half a million dollars

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norman lebrecht

March 12, 2018

An instrument that the physicist gave to the son of his janitor has sold at Bonhams for $516,500, five times the auction house’s estimate.

It’s all relative.

Details here.

 

Comments

  • Sharon says:
    March 12, 2018 at 3:39 pm

    If the guy who made the violin had sold it instead of gifting it to Einstein in the 1930’s it probably would have fetched less that $300, worth less than $12,000 in today’s dollars.

    Reply
  • Elisabeth Matesky says:
    March 12, 2018 at 7:29 pm

    Without the name of Einstein’s gifted violin to his son’s janitor, which has just fetched $516,500.00 USD, one cannot determine if this was an ‘over the top’
    price due to the instrument being that of a lesser known maker or if it is under $ international violin market price on known ‘name’ maker’s ~ As Eimstein was an
    avid lover of the Violin & Music, having studied a bit with Toscha Seidel, a famed
    class-mate of 3 of my violin mentor’s, Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein & Sascha
    Lasserson, let it be stated that Albert Einstein was a fine Violinist, which may be
    contrary to many people’s views of the Great Scientist, Einstein!

    Perhaps the maker of this particular violin could be mentioned here for the ‘Violin
    Nation’ population who read Norman Lebrecht’s Slippedisc.com!

    Thank you for this news ~

    Elisabeth Matesky / Chicago

    Reply
  • Sharon says:
    March 13, 2018 at 7:37 am

    Accoring to the previous post the violin maker was Oscar H. Steger, a cabinet maker and violinist at the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, not a professional violin maker.

    Reply

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