NYT learned about the discovery of a stolen Stradivarius violin in Tokyo

The violin of the Italian master Antonio Stradivari, stolen at the end of World War II, was most likely discovered in Tokyo. This was reported on July 6 by The New York Times (NYT), citing specialist Carla Shapro.

According to the expert, this musical instrument was made in 1709 and given to the Mendelssohn-Bonke family for safekeeping, from where it was stolen.

According to Shapro, the violin was shown at the Stradivarius Instrument Exhibition in Tokyo in 2018. Despite the fact that the violin shown had a different name and date of manufacture, it was very similar to the stolen instrument.

"Obviously, it's the same thing <...> there's no doubt about it, and I don't think anyone has a reasonable reason to say that it's not," said Tarisio founder Jason Price.

He clarified that the degree of wear, scratches, dents and features of the violin on display in Tokyo correspond to the instrument stolen during World War II. The similarity was also confirmed by the curator of the Museum of Music, Jean-Philippe Echard, who said it was technically impossible to create two instruments so similar.

On February 7, Sotheby's auction house announced that a Joachim Ma Stradivarius violin made in 1714 was sold at auction in New York for $11.25 million. The instrument is named after two of its prominent former owners: the Hungarian virtuoso Joseph Joachim (1831-1907) and the famous Chinese violinist and teacher Si-Hong Ma (1925-2009).