A Guadagnini fetches record two million dollars
mainThe ‘ex-Sinzheimer’ G. B. Guadagnini was sold yesterday by Tarisio Auctions for a record $2,105,305.
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I am always surprised that a price can be put on these rare precious instruments at all.
They are impossible to duplicate or replace and in the right hands are simply magical
So are instruments of many living violinmakers. Let’s halt this fetish with old instruments. A superb instrument of any age is no guarantee of quality music making.
They fetch the antique prices because there are no more being made, which is not the case with most living makers. You may only wish to pay for the “playing value” of an instrument, but you are in economic competition with those who are willing to pay extra for the “antique value” whether you like it or not.
10/10
It is obvious that no instrument gives any guarantees of “quality music making”, but the best Italian violins made in 18th century still sound better in terms of power, projection, richness -‘“sweetness” of their tone – than any recently made fiddles I have ever heard.
Are we listening to the sounds of the makers,or those of the restorers?
Quite frankly,the only reason why many of these fiddles are still alive and kicking is because people have been prepared to spend the money on them.
Besides,how good are most of them?
I was glad to see the back of some of the ‘vintage’ fiddles I have played.
People “have been prepared to spend money on them” for three centuries now precisely because those instruments are well worth it regardless of their makers’ names. Of course during the last century or so the names have been adding to the insane price inflation too. But the basic reason for the prominence of those luthiers’ names is the superior quality of their creations.