Investing in Violins
by David Morris
It is well known that the value of most art objects – paintings, sculpture, furniture – has increased dramatically over the last half century; but most people are far less aware that the same has been true of the instruments in the violin family: the violin, viola and cello.
The trend has almost always been upward: an instrument sold in 1900 for £1,000 might be worth £2,500,000 today. As in the rest of the art world, the better the item, the more its value has increased in relative terms. The finest violins were made in Cremona, Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, the names Amati, Guarneri and above all Stradivarius becoming household names to all those interested in music. From New York to Tokyo and from concertgoers to taxi drivers, the name Stradivarius has become a byword for craftsmanship of the highest possible quality.
The best violins are artworks of great beauty, but unlike most art objects a violin is of course not just for looking at, but listening to and it is the beauty of sound that has made the great instruments so sought after. Whether it was built for a humble musician or for the greatest courts in Europe, the best of the older instruments are unsurpassed in their tone quality. Today some of these instruments are in museums and collections and others are still being played. Almost without exception the great violinist for the last 200 years- Paganini, Joachim, Kreisler, Heifetz, Menuhin, Perlman, Zuckerman- have played on either a Stradivari or a Guarneri del Gesu.
Western music has become a dominant art form throughout the civilized world. Every large city on every continent now has at least one symphony orchestra and the great soloist of the day become household names. It is this increasing interest in classical music that has led to the sharp rise in prices of the best instruments.
Whilst the art market is subject to the vagaries of fashion and world economy, the violin market has remained extraordinarily stable. The best ‘modern’ violins (those made in the last 100 years) have seen a steep price rise, but the greatest demand is still for the old masters, not just because of their glamour and beauty but also because they still sound the best. Whereas a master painting can be regarded as a luxury for the rich, a violin cannot be regarded as a luxury for the professional musician, ambitious students and soloist. For these people it is a necessity – a ‘tool of the trade’ with which to make a living.
It is self evident that the supply of great Cremonese violins is finite. Every violinist and collector covets the same instruments and they can be easily moved from one country to another. The result is that the price of these instruments has escalated to the point that the musician can often no longer afford to buy them himself. Most instruments are now bought by banks, or foundations, private or national, which give the musician the chance to borrow an instrument that would otherwise be unaffordable. Very often these institutions buy with no intention of resale which further diminishes the supply of instruments coming into the market, consequently pushing prices up.
Banks and large corporations will often build up a collection to create a specific image. The purchase of a great violin is news. Every time the instrument is played it promotes the company and the publicity can be generated anywhere in the world. The value of the instrument will almost always increase in the long term, so if the company does want to sell it eventually, it can be done at a profit.
Of course as in all purchases involving a great deal of money, great care must be taken. Violin fakes are everywhere; most violins have labels and most of them are misleading. Even as far back as 1685 violinist Tommasso Vitali complained to the Duke of Modena that he had bought a violin for the price of twelve pistoles because the violin bore the label of Nicolo Amati, a maker of great repute. He complains that he discovered that the label was false having found underneath the label one of Francesco Ruggieri, a maker of much less repute, whose violins were not worth three pistoles. Now, both Amati and Ruggieri are regarded as great Cremonese makers and little separates them in value.
Many of the world’s finest violins have a provenance stretching back over many years; for instance, the Guarneri del Gesu nicknamed the Cannon, now in the museum at Genoa was the violin played by Paganini himself which he was given in 1802. To be secure in one’s purchase it is essential to have the guarantee of a certificate from a recognized expert. The most important of these in the first part of the century was Alfred Hill and today Charles Beare is the best known authority on the subject.
If one can afford to buy a great violin, it is not only a good investment but can provide pleasure as a work of art and as a musical instrument to one lucky musician and tens of thousands of satisfied concert goers.
