Theft alert: Gofriller cello is snatched on a Paris street

Theft alert: Gofriller cello is snatched on a Paris street

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norman lebrecht

February 16, 2018

The French cellist Ophélie Gaillard was on her way to rehearsal at the Musee de l’orangerie in Paris yesterday when a thief grabbed her precious 1737 Francesco Goffriller cello, together with her Jean-Marie Persoit bow and her phone.

The incident took place close to her home in Pantin. The thief held a knife to her so Ophélie did not resist.

She is unhurt, but distraught.

The cello is on loan from a bank. It was in a dark red flight case.

 

Please share this post as widely as you can. Stop that thief and get Ophélie’s cello back.

We can do it.

 

Comments

  • Andy Robertson says:

    Francesco Goffriller died in 1750…the cello would be from 1737.

  • JoBe says:

    It must be a case of commissioned theft for some collector. Thousands of people walk every day through Paris carrying cellos, going to or coming from their music lessons, for instance, and nothing happens to them! This victim and this instrument were surely targeted on purpose.

  • Oskar says:

    A very lopsided cello with bad F holes.

  • Eleanor Hope says:

    Just heard from Ophélie’s manager who writes: “Just got the good news that the cello was brought back to her and left in front of the house in à very old stolen car… She was called anonymously and advised that the cello was back.”

  • YoYo Mama says:

    That is a ghastly thought, because surely such a unique instrument would be impossible to sell. Ah, I see that last entry, apparently the thief found that out. Same with harps, each one has a unique serial number.

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