In December 2022, J & A Beare brought its 130th anniversary year to a close with a one-off public concert at Cadogan Hall, London on 19 December 2022. The sold-out performance brought together 11 renowned artists with close relationships to Beare’s, performing Mendelssohn and Chausson entirely on Stradivari instruments.
Dutch violin virtuoso Janine Jansen led the ensemble as artistic director. Celebrated for her “seemingly effortless and flawless technique” (BBC Music Magazine), Jansen’s acclaimed performances have earned her a devoted worldwide following. This concert further deepened her flourishing relationship with Beare’s following our unique joint 2021 project, 12 Stradivari. Bringing together 12 exquisite Stradivari violins to record for an album across just two weeks, the result was a “captivating” (The Strad) release for Decca, and a feature-length documentary from BAFTA Award-winning director Gerald Fox, Falling for Stradivari.
For this concert, Beare’s utilised its unique position between artists and patrons to source a rare, beautifully-preserved set of Antonio Stradivari’s legendary instruments on a single stage. Many of the luthier’s finest instruments have passed through J & A Beare’s doors and workshops across the company’s 130-year history, giving Beare’s the globally acknowledged position of expertise and trust required to successfully bring together instruments on this scale.
