Taiwan's Chi Mei Museum organizes 'Legend of Stradivari' series

台灣奇美博物館舉辦「史特拉底瓦里」傳奇之音系列展覽

Stradivarius violins from museum's collection featured in concert series


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Chi Mei Museum in Tainan announced the “Legend of Stradivari” concert series in March featuring famous Stradivarius violins and other stringed instruments from its collection.

A press release announced the concerts and noted the museum owns one of the world's most complete collections of rare violins. The highlight of the collection are violins made by Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737), instruments praised for exquisite lacquer and a sweet and bright tone despite hundreds of years of use.

One of the Stradivarius violins was made in 1709 and played at the concert “Marie Hall-Viotti.” Typically, Stradivarius violins are named after renowned musicians who owned or performed with the violin, with this violin previously owned by famed violinist Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824) and legendary British violinist Marie Hall (1884-1956).

Stradivarius violins were innovative in design, inspiring luthiers and musicians to push boundaries in musical instrument construction. Many Stradivarius violins are well preserved and fetch millions of US dollars at auction, setting the standard for handcrafted violin production for three centuries.

To give the concert series more depth and breadth, violins created by Stradivari's son Omobono (1679-1742), and another acclaimed luthier, Girolamo Amati (ca. 1550-1630), will be played together on the stage for the first time. The concert includes six classical compositions representing various repertoires from the 18th to the 20th century.

Tickets for the "Legend of Stradivari” are currently on sale with performances scheduled for the Chimei Museum in Tainan (March 16), Morning Dew Culture and Arts Hall in Taichung (March 23), and Eslite Performance Hall in Taipei (March 29).