The recent heist of multiple vintage guitars made me wonder if perhaps the perps weren’t ambitious enough. For that much risk, you ought to aim a little higher. (And also know when a fence will go to the cops.)
The Macdonald Stradivari viola above was purchased for $30 million + by the Stretton Society. The Society permits Amihai Grosz, the principal violist for the Berlin Philharmonic, to play it.
Stradivari violas are more rare than the violins, which themselves can fetch upward of $15 million. I think if you acquired a few of those, you probably could offload them to a fancier, more discreet clientele.
What could possibly make a viola worth more than a 1962 Gretsch White Falcon? I’m glad you asked.
In a study published in the scientific journal Public Library of Science ONE, Texas A&M biochemistry professor Joseph Nagyvary argues that Stradivari probably had no idea what made his instruments special because the crucial factor, an externally applied varnish on the wood, was beyond his apprehension or control.
Using the ashes of minute wood samples, Nagyvary analyzed the chemical makeup of violins made by Stradivari and a contemporary Cremonese maker Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, whose violins are thought to be near equals to Strads. The ashes of the Strad’s wood contained numerous chemicals — most notably borax and chromium — that suggest it had been aggressively treated with a varnish designed to protect against infestation. The analysis also found that the organic matrix of Stradivari’s wood was damaged and weakened, almost certainly by the application of the mineral preservative, leading Nagyvary to speculate that the wood’s porous quality allows Stradivari instruments to resonate with a rich, powerful tone.
“There is a possibility here that Stradivari received the wood pre-treated and so did not even know these minerals in his wood were the crucial factor for the sound, and this is why, despite almost surely having apprentices, the art of his instrument making was not passed on,” he says.
I have a hunch that the Angry Bass Collective – or whoever pulled off the heist – appreciates the lore of priceless instruments.