Joshua Bell

This is just a quick (hopefully) note to mention that Joshua Bell is in Australia briefly. By Australia I mean Sydney and Melbourne. Fortunately the Melbourne concert will be broadcast live on ABC Classic FM. He will be playing with the Australian Youth Orchestra. Together they will be touring Europe shortly.

There are a number of stories about Joshua Bell. I want to share two of them briefly.

The first concerns the violin he currently plays. It is a Stradivarius, and one with an interesting past. The story can be read here. Briefly, the violin was owned by Polish violinist Bronislaw Huberman. In 1936 the violin was stolen from him by Julian Altman. It was not until 1988 that Altman, on his death bed, revealed that he had stolen it and was playing it all that time. It then ended up in the hands of British violinist Norbert Brainin who sold it to Bell in 2001. Before Bell bought it, Brainin was going to sell it to a museum. I don't understand why museums keep Stradivarius violins. Surely they are better kept in the hands of professionals who will play the instruments and thereby keep them in better condition and allow more people to experience playing and listening to them.

The second is the story of Joshua Bell playing in the subway incognito. To quote the story briefly...

"No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made."

Well, I know where he will be this Monday night and I will be doing my best to listen. If I don't get to hear the concert that night I will be sure to find the podcast and listen to it later.