VIOLIN ADVISOR, LLC
Stewart Pollens, Director

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Stewart Pollens' book

Stradivari

is now available! 

See below for ordering
information

 

 

 

 

Stewart Pollens was recently interviewed about violins as investments by the Financial Times

Visit "In the News" for a link to this article.

 

 

 

 

Violin Advisor was
"The Talk of the Town"

 - The New Yorker,
May 24, 2008

 

 

About Violin Advisor, LLC


In 1971 Stradivari's 1721 "Lady Blunt" violin sold at a Sotheby's auction for a then record-shattering $200,000; it was recently resold through a dealer to the Nippon Music Foundation for nearly $10M. In 2003 the "Carrodus" Guarneri was purchased $4.5M; four years later it was sold for $7M. The "Kochanski" Guarneri violin recently sold for $10M, and the asking price of the "Vieuxtemps" is reportedly $18M. These prices reflect an upward trend that has been unaffected by the recent "credit crunch" and the 2008 stock market crash. As in previous economic downturns, violins have proven to be an excellent hedge, though unlike some high-end collectibles, violins are resistant to fads and changing fashions--they have been one of the mainstays of Western culture for the past 500  years.

Directed by Stewart Pollens, one of the world’s leading musical instrument conservators and violin authorities, Violin Advisor, LLC is an independent consulting firm that advises musicians, collectors, institutions, and investors on the acquisition of fine stringed instruments. We physically examine instruments - and supporting documentation - being offered by the principal dealers, private sellers, and major auction houses in order to assist our clients in avoiding fakes and misattributed instruments, along with those having serious or undisclosed condition problems or poor playing characteristics.

In recent years, the market has been inundated with fraudulent scientific reports and counterfeit certificates. Violin Advisor, LLC evaluates all reports and documentation and may conduct its own tests to determine an instrument's age and authenticity.

 

We offer a range of services that includes:

  • Authentication and appraisal

  • Instrument selection for musicians, investors, collectors, and institutions

  • Condition and damage reports for appraisals and insurance claims

  • Scientific dating and material analysis

  • Technical documentation and photography for certificates and publication

  • Conservation

  • Collection management

  • Investment enhancement through public relations, publication, and loan of instruments to distinguished soloists, orchestras, and non-profit institutions such as conservatories and museums

Would you pay over $10,000,000 for this violin?


The "Messiah" has long been  considered the finest and best preserved of Stradivari's violins, yet in 1999 Stewart Pollens  examined this famous relic in the Ashmolean Museum and discovered evidence disproving the provenance that supposedly linked it to Stradivari's workshop. He also discovered  that a critical inscription it bears is a forgery and that the instrument exhibits a number of stylistic anomalies.   Dendrochronology proved that  the  tree from which the top was made was not cut down until after Stradivari's death!  

 

"Violin Advisor, LLC assists in the acquisition of investment-grade violins.  Enjoy solid growth plus the privileges of arts patronage." - Financial Times, May 20, 2008

 


 

Stewart Pollens' latest book, Stradivari , is now available!

Stradivari

by Stewart Pollens
Cambridge University Press

Order online today from Cambridge University Press, or Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble at a special, limited-time discount.

For over 200 years, Antonio Stradivari has been universally regarded as the greatest violin maker who ever lived, yet it is not widely known that he made virtually every kind of bowed- and plucked-string instrument popular in the Baroque period, including lutes, viols, mandolins, guitars, and harps. Stradivari provides a fascinating biography of this legendary maker, based on newly discovered material in church and civic archives, alongside technical descriptions and analyses of many of the maker's workshop materials preserved in the Museo Stradivariano in Cremona, particularly as they relate to extant and lost instruments, baroque stringing and instrument adjustment, and early performance practice. There are separate chapters for each type of instrument, allowing the reader to easily locate information.

• Highly illustrated, the book contains over 100 black and white photographs of Stradivari's workshop materials, and colour photographs of 16 important Stradivari instruments • Includes fascinating biographical and historical information, and a step-by-step account of how Stradivari made his violins, making it appealing to enthusiasts as well as academics • Chapters are divided by instrument types, making it easy for the reader to locate information


Read Stewart Pollens' article on the analysis of Stradivari's  violin varnish in the May 2009 issue of The Strad.   A more detailed discussion is found in Pollens' latest book, Stradivari.

This research was conducted in cooperation with the Department of Scientific Research of the  Metropolitan Museum of Art and McCrone Associates.

                    

Read the Violin Advisor's answer to the question posed by Slate Magazine following the pre-recorded Inauguration Day concert:  "Why Do Cellos Sound Lousy in Cold Weather?"

 

 

©Violin Advisor LLC. Stewart Pollens 2010