The Violin - A Tool for Music and for Investment
December/January 2001
There are those with a world-class talent for creating and preserving wealth, and those with a world-class talent for creating music. For investors who appreciate music but whose talents lie in other directions there is another way of combining monetary investment with investment into the future of a major musical talent. PWA spoke to Simon Morris, managing director of violin specialists J&A Beare in London, about the opportunities available to purchase an investment quality violin and sponsor a young artist at a most crucial period in their career.
In the world of classical music there is a real need for young, well-trained and highly gifted musicians to find - and afford - the type of quality instruments necessary to play successfully in the international market. Imagine a world where a dancer would have to spend several years' earnings for a pair of ballet slippers in order to compete for a place in an international company. And yet to compete in the world of international music this is the sort of expenditure required to purchase a fine violin, viola or cello.
The combined offices and workshops of J&A Beare are located in a fine Georgian building in Central London. This is a company that has been in existence for more than a century and one where the founding family still plays an essential role in its running and whose expertise is renown. Charles Beare is the foremost authority on the 'old masters' of stringed instruments. The finest violins were made in Cremona, Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries and of the first-class makers of the era - Amarti, Guarneri, Stradivari - it is Stradivari that is inarguably the best known. Almost without exception the great violinists for the last two centuries have played on either a Stradivari or a Gaurneri del Gésu. Beare has recently published a book Antonio Stradivari Cremona Exhibition of 1987, which chronicles Cremonese violin making, detailing the provenance of each instrument in the exhibit and providing a comprehensive photographic record of them.
The best violins are also beautiful as works of art in themselves. Most of the Cremonese violins have been bought by banks, or by private or national foundations, often with no intention of resale, further diminishing the already limited supply and consequently pushing up their prices.
WHY THE 'OLD MASTERS'?
When the question is posed, why is it so important that musicians acquire the finest stringed instruments? Simon Morris explains, "The tip players prefer the best instruments because they offer not only volume and resonance, but immediate response to the bow and an infinite palette of tonal colours and nuances which are transmitted to the back of the hall. These are the characteristics which define the greatest instruments and which the players desire."
Unfortunately the fine orchestral or soloist player's desire is often defeated by economics these days. Forty years ago a 'section' violinist may have earned an annual salary sufficient to purchase a fine Guadagnini violin. Nowadays the same violin would cost around 200 times as much, but players' incomes have not kept in line with these inflated prices.
INVESTMENT VALUE
One can see from the huge increase in value of such a violin that it has been a very good long-term investment. From 1960-1996 Italian violins have increased in value at around 10-12% per annum. There have not been the spectacular increases - or falls - seen in the stock market. The value of violins has increased very steadily. This is perhaps partly because of a unique factor in this market - these are 'works of art' as well as 'tools of the trade'.
In interview in 1994 Charles Beare himself was quoted as saying, "For 24 Years, these kinds of instruments kept level with house prices. Then the housing market collapsed. Violins did not. This has resulted in such an acceleration of prices that the best instruments have been put beyond the grasp of the people who should be playing them. Often, these are talented young musicians who are trying to start a career".
This quote still stands up today.
The rise of popularity of classical music in the Far East has also pushed up the value of old instruments. 'The number of old instruments has diminished, but the market has expanded,' says Morris. "There is now a big market in Japan and Korea as western music has become more popular. Whereas an English parent might spend £10,000 on a violin for their child, a Korean will spend £100,000." So the market in fine stringed instruments is truly international. Buyers come to J&A Beare from the US, Australia, the Continent and the Far East. Because instruments of the violin family are primarily tools of the trade, as previously stated, they tend to be less subject to the fashionable whims that prevail in, for example, the more conventional art markets of painting and sculpture. From 1960-1996 the average price of fine 18th century violins increased 10-12% per annum compounded. Prices since 1996 did not rocket as they did for hi-tech stocks but they have also not suffered the falls. It should also be taken into account that although quality violins are usually easy to sell it is not a liquid market like bonds or shares. Stringed instruments are also, it should be noted, assets that are easy to transport.
A GREAT TRADITION
The sponsorship programme that J&A Beare facilitates follows a great tradition of first-class instruments being bought by sponsors to be played by musicians in need of one. The clients who buy violins for loan are almost always interested in the musical side as well as the 'antique' aspect of the violin. If investment were the sole consideration then J&A Beare would consider a strategy to maximize this.
"Most of the benefactors tend to German. Austrian or Swiss," says Morris. "The United Kingdom lags somewhere behind in the arena. It appears the Continental Europeans take their artists - and the inherent problems of being one - more seriously than the British."
But J&A Beare have been active in assisting a number of well-known musicians, such as Jacqueline du Pré, Yo Yo Ma and Nigel Kennedy early in their careers, to acquire instruments through sponsors. Normally this would work by the sponsor purchasing and lending it with the player being responsible for insurance and maintenance. Sometimes, because the potential sponsor is already interested and active in the music world, they might have a musician in mind before the purchase. However, very often this is not the case. In this instance J&A Beare are happy and perfectly placed to help.
"A person may be a music lover, and appreciate fine playing, but it does not follow that they have the necessary expertise to recognize a future world-class musician," says Morris. "There are essential questions to be asked. Who has the appropriate training? Who has the talent? Who is at that crucial point in their career? These are areas where we can help. We can provide a list of two or three names, the dates of places they will be playing and arrange a meeting between the musician and the potential sponsor."
According to Morris, helping coordinate the relationship between sponsor, player and instrument is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a part of J&A Beare. Many of the company's executives were former professional musicians themselves and are therefore very attuned to the world of the performers on a level beyond that of mere instrument experts.
Once the musician has been chosen a contract is drawn up, stating the terms of the loan. There is a standard agreement already at hand, but this can be customized. They all contain conditions of care and maintenance, and provide for insurance. Another condition of the agreement may be that the musician performs once or twice a year for the sponsor at a private function.
"We really encourage this," says Morris. "We think it is beneficial for both the musician and the sponsor to develop a relationship. It is good to remind the performers who they have been helped by and it is good for the benefactor to feel they are an integral part of the musical tradition."
When asked if there have ever been any problems with anyone not upholding the agreement, Morris says, "We have never experienced any - and I've never heard of any elsewhere. Music is a small world, if there had been, I'm sure we would have heard about it. Having said that, I suppose there is always a first time. But the instrument is the musician's lifeblood. I can't imagine any musician not being appreciative of the instrument at his disposal, not taking the best possible care and not upholding the terms and conditions attached to using it."
PHILANTHROPY WITH A TWIST
The main comfort for the sponsor/investor in terms of investment is that historically fine stringed instruments have tended to outperform other investment opportunities as a result of increased demand for a finite or dwindling supply of really top-class Italian instruments. Unlike some other instruments, the design of the violin has not changed in 300 years so an antique instrument is as useful as a new one to a musician. Even bows are extremely valuable. A fine bow by Francois Tourte - the Stradivari of bow makers - may fetch between US$ 100,000-200,000.
"We don't, however, recommend that these be used - at least not with any regularity. Unlike the violins themselves, they are more easily prone to wear and tear and possible damage. They are best kept as a quiet investment, in our opinion," says Morris. He also extends a word of caution about the purchase of a violin. "It is essential to have the guarantee of a certificate from a recognized expert to guard against forgeries."
On another level, it is difficult to imagine a more well-rounded purchase. A work of art, beautiful to behold on an aesthetic level, a valuable antique, a useful and practical tool supplying the most wonderful music in the hands of a dedicated professional. To purchase one and sponsor an artist, allowing the artist to ply his trade with the best available tool, is both an investment and an act of philanthropy, giving a joy to innumerable concert-goers and CD buyers.
