Gibson ex Huberman
The Gibson ex Huberman is a violin that was built by Antonio Stradivari in 1713 . The violin was originally called Gibson . The present name Gibson Stradivarius or short Huberman comes from a long-time owners, the virtuoso Bronislaw Huberman , where the instrument was stolen twice. Today the instrument is played by Joshua Bell .
history
The first theft took place in a Viennese hotel in 1919 - at that time the instrument was soon returned to Bronisław Huberman. The violin was stolen from the artist's dressing room at Carnegie Hall for the second time in 1936 , while Huberman was performing on his Guarneri one floor below . When Huberman was immediately informed of the theft of the Stradivarius, he allegedly said, "It is insured, don't worry." In fact, the insurer paid Lloyd’s $ 30,000 to settle the damage. Huberman never saw the instrument again.
The Stradivarius reappeared almost fifty years later. In 1985, violinist Julian Altman confessed to his wife on her deathbed that he had bought the violin from the thief for $ 100 in 1936. Altman had earned his living as a freelance musician performing in restaurants and at social events. Altman's widow Marcelle Hall described him as a womanizer and a gambler. In an interview she said: “Maybe this time in his life he told the truth.” She handed the instrument over to Lloyd's in 1987 and received a high “reward” for it.
Altman, who played the Stradivarius all his life, was probably the thief himself. This is how his widow later portrayed it in court. Altman had in any case tried to hide the value of the violin by covering the varnish with shoe polish. Marcelle Hall was himself accused of theft in 1996. Sherry Altman Schoenwetter, a daughter of Altman from a previous marriage, sued in court that her stepmother should not have kept the $ 263,000 "finder's fee" from Lloyd's for herself, but should have added it to the father's estate. Two instances found the plaintiff right. Marcelle Hall said there was nothing left of the money.
After the handover to Lloyd's in 1987, the instrument was restored for nine months. Lloyd's then sold it to Norbert Brainin for $ 1.2 million . The current owner, Joshua Bell , bought the violin in 2001 for about $ 4 million.
Web links
- Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1713, the 'Gibson, Huberman' description of the violin at tarisio.com
- The Case of the Missing Stradivarius blog article detailing the second theft, December 16, 2009
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joshua Bell's biography at joshuabell.com. Quote: Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin.
- ↑ a b A stolen stradivarius, a-51-year old secret The New York Times, May 14, 1987
- ^ A b c Stolen Stradivarius Divides a Family The New York Times, November 6, 1996
- ↑ a b Booty’s Beneficiaries The New York Times, November 10, 1996
- ↑ a b Joshua Bell: Here's the story behind my very famous, once-stolen violin Tampa Bay Times , January 26, 2017