Exclusive: 70 pedigree violins are found in a London cupboard
NewsThe family of violin connoisseur Norman Rosenberg are putting up for sale an extraordinary collection of 70 instruments that were found in a cupboard at the back of his workshop.
They include a 1685 Stradivarius, which hasn’t been seen for decades.
Rosenberg died in February 2022 aged 95. There will be two auction sales in March and June next year.
Further details follow.
A collection of 70 instruments that made up the private collection of leading violin expert Norman Rosenberg will be sold by Ingles & Hayday at two auctions in March and June 2023. Born in Liverpool in 1926, Rosenberg fell in love with the sound of the violin at an early age, listening to Heifetz and Kreisler recordings, and taught himself to play. He came from a family of antique dealers and these two early influences formed his passion for the instruments themselves. He sold his first violin at the age of 20 and never looked back.
These influences also mean that not only did he have a superb eye for the detail and construction of instruments, which made his opinion one of the most reputed in the business, but he had a player’s ear for sound. The collection therefore represents prime examples of each of the maker’s work, combining both fine workmanship with superb sound.
Rosenberg loved instruments so deeply that he was often reluctant to sell them and many of the instruments (almost exclusively violins) in this sale have not been seen on the open market or in performance for many years – although he often lent them out to talented young players – and they are in excellent playing condition.
When Rosenberg died in February 2022, Ingles & Hayday were brought in to assess the collection and discovered its full extent, representing a veritable A to Z of the finest Italian makers, including a 1685 Stradivari: Amati, Balestrieri, Bergonzi, Ceruti, Gagliano, Grancino, Guarneri, Landolfi, Mantegazza, Montagnana, Rocca, Sgarabotto, Stradivari and Testore.
The presence of several Milanese instruments – two Grancinos, three Landolfis, a Testore, a Lavazza and a Mantegazza viola, and a Sgarabotto copy of Grancino – indicates his affection for the Milanese school of violin making. Indeed, these instruments are often considered good value players’ instruments by comparison with Cremonese violins. Other makers include the French Lupot, Vuillaume and English John Lott. The auction offers a once-in-a-generation chance to see these instruments together.
Tim Ingles, one of the Directors of Ingles & Hayday, remembers seeing the instruments for the first time: ‘It was the day that all auctioneers dream of – going into somebody’s attic and discovering that it’s rammed with good instruments. Knowing it was Norman, we knew there would be some treasures, but we didn’t know exactly what we’d find. There was a little door in the corner, half hidden by a bookcase, and Paul had to get down on his hands and knees to access it. He opened it and said, “It’s full of violins,” and started passing back one great violin after another. There were a lot of amazed exclamations. “Wow, it’s a great Ceruti. Oh my God, that’s a Grancino!” It went on like that for about 10 minutes while Paul took these violins out of the cupboard. These discoveries sometimes happen in our world, but the unusual thing about Norman’s collection is that there is both quantity and quality. He kept it all under his hat, though, so most people who went to his house got to see three or four instruments, and practically no-one has ever seen the whole collection. The big reveal will be very exciting.’
Paul Hayday, the other Director of Ingles & Hayday, said, ‘It was like walking into a toy shop for us. What was lovely was that normally when you go to a client, they give you a rough idea of what you’re going to see. On this visit, we had no idea what we would find, and so we had an amazing feeling of discovery each time a great violin emerged from the cupboard.’
Rosenberg also had a keen eye for bows and the collection includes five Peccattes, as well as bows by Persoit, Maire, Pajeot, Henry and Voirin, and some spectacular English bows by Tubbs and Hill & Sons. Ingles said: ‘We were both surprised by the quality of Norman’s bow collection. I don’t think many people associated Norman with collecting bows, so it was another lovely surprise on the day to discover eight large boxes full of spectacular bows.’ Online bidding for the Ingles & Hayday sale begins at 9am on 24 March 2023
Why hoard instruments for decades that could have been bringing musicians and audiences alike so much joy?
Hoarding is the point. It’s an end in itself.
I expect that because he paid for them he probably did what he wanted to do, not what you wanted.
It says that he lent them out to violinists.
If you read the article you’d know Mr Rosenberg lent out the violins all the time. This is not unusual.
he loved them. They were probably like his children.
Some people have classic cars. But they do not drive them.
Dear Mr. Osborne,
Norman Rosenberg did lend out violins to students and top- flight soloists. I was visiting one evening, when Manoug Parikian called with a student who was preparing for a very prestigious competition. Norman and the student went off to find a suitable violin, and I was left with the great violinist. He asked me if I had ever seen a Strad close up. I replied that I hadn’t. He then opened his violin case took out the violin and handed it to me. I was terrified of dropping it so I asked him to please take it back. He then tucked it under his chin and proceeded to play it. The sound was quiet in the room we were in, yet it could fill a concert hall. It was one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard! This happened around the early eighties, and Norman often told me of meeting really talented students to whom he would lend a valuable violin, prior to a competition.
Quite a big cupboard, that. 70 violins!
Did they find a few violas, and onions in his kitchen?
Something like this (by which I mean, dealers who can’t quite bring themselves to part with certain treasures) happens reasonably often with art, with rare books and manuscripts, early weapons, and — on a more specialized and lower economic scale perhaps — collections of rare woods, metals, precious stones, and toys.
But what a dream-like experience for these fellows to actually encounter it firsthand. This would be quite the trove to put on the market all at once, however.
I am a bit surprised at their surprise that an informed violin collector/dealer would also collect bows.
Once and only once did I visit the home of a genuine violin hoarder. There was no place to sit because the chairs and sofas and tables and stairways and even the floors were all covered with violins — maybe a few modest treasures but mostly just decent looking instruments made by that enormous population of fairly skilled but not Midas-touch pro and amateur luthiers and hobbyists. I saw the names of many Milwaukee makers from the 19th and early 20th century that my father had mentioned to me. The instruments were not being pampered and one saw many scratches and much damage to varnish perhaps from excess heat or poor varnishing jobs to begin with. Most lacked a full set of strings making trying out any given violin or viola impractical. And he wasn’t selling anyway (I was there to see if he had a Walter Solon Goss, a respected Massachusetts maker circa 1885 – 1920). No, he was adding on, or wanted to!
Yes, this event was hopefully recorded . It would be quite a video
what a great find – I do wonder if there’s not simply a catalog of all known Strads, Amatis, etc. which would allow better sleuthing for this kind of thing.
jr https://www.rutmanip.com
There absolutely is a catalog.
Did he make a will. Many people do not.
I am filled with dread.
To keep all of those locked up to and into his grave seems very odd. Especially in his latter years, one would have thought that he would want to see and hear them being played in a concert hall in the hands of the best violinists, even if for a brief period of time. If one truly adores those violins, one would want to hear that. I suppose we will never understand his mindset.
Wow! What an amazing moment that must have been.
This would make for a a great episode of ‘Antiques Roadshow ‘.
BUT… Antiques Roadshow is a BBC programme, and the BBC has declared Art is a dirty word, so by extension the treasure trove of instruments associated with Art cannot be celebrated. Call them “fiddles” and they might just pass the editor, though.
Hope they include the cupboard in the auction. Just in case one bidder takes all.
Seventy! Someone should have organized an orchestra to play them before they are dispersed to the four corners.
I am not aware of Mr Rosenberg’ s family circumstances but fear there might have been an opportunity missed here, setting up a trust in his name and memory to allow accomplished young musicians the opportunity to get acquainted withe these magnificent instruments rather than maximise immediate profits measured in pounds and pence.