TARISIO'S STRADIVARI by Richard Gordon
IN 1827, A HUNDRED AND ELEVEN YEARS AFTER ANTONIO STRADIVARI MADE THE WORLD'S MOST famous violin, "The Messiah", a tall tattered stranger walked into the Paris shop of the dealer and violinmaker Jean Francois Aldric's. Removing a backpack, he took out six violins. Aldric's eyes bulged; every one was a masterpiece.
" Your name, sir? How came you by these instruments?"
" I am Luigi Tarisio, a carpenter and fiddler from Milan. I travel about doing carpentry and cabinetwork for convents and churches, and when I can I trade my services for unused violins. When I play for festivals or dances I meet players whose instruments need repairs and I exchange new fiddles for violins like these."
Aldric reacted with caution, but Tarisio convinced him he had legal possession and that he knew the value of the instruments, and that he would sell them reasonably. His pockets filled with money, Tarisio returned to Italy where he donned carpenter's clothes, put his tools in a cart, and set off to hunt down the next Stradivari.
Italy was in a period of depression and new makers had sprung up, each claiming their products were better than those of the older makers. This, plus many violin owners' ignorance, worked to Tarisio's advantage, and a few months later he arrived in Paris again with more fine instruments. Dealers exclaimed: " Oooh!" and "Aah!" but each time Tarisio said: " Yes, these are very fine, but nothing like the one I have at home."
For twenty years Tarisio brought violins to Paris, each time mentioning the violin he had at home. The dealers protested: " Talk, talk, how you talk! That violin you have at home is like the Messiah- we always hear about it, but no one ever sees him."
Twenty- seven years after his first visit to Paris, neighbors noticed Tarisio was no longer coming and going. Police broke into the attic residence where they found a workbench, two chairs, a sofa, and a hundred and forty-five violins (including two dozen Stradivarii) violas, cellos,and a double- bass. They also found Tarisio's stiff, fully clothed body lying on the sofa--with the world's most coveted violin, the Messiah Stradivari, clutched to his chest.
Born to humble parents, Luigi Tarisio became the world's greatest collector of violins, saving many of the most prized instruments from the hazards of improper storage, clumsy repairs, regraduations, and revarnishings.
Many musicians consider 'the Messiah' to be the world's most coveted wooden object. Made in 1716 by Antonio Stradivari, it now rests in a closely guarded glass case in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England.
Occasionally a Stradivari violin finds it's way to auction. Bids may start at about a million dollars and rise to a million and a half. Of course, Stradivarii aren't sold by the ounce, but compared to gold they are worth more than two hundred times as much. But 'the Messiah' Stradivari? Money can't buy it. It's unsratched, unused, in mint condition- a virgin violin.
Stradivari seemed reluctant to part with it, and let it hang for years in his workshop without stringing it up. Count Salabue acquired it from Stradivari's heirs and kept it in his collection for sixty years.
Tarisio obtained it from the count's heirs. After Tarisio's death, Vuillaume, the famous French maker, bought it from Tarisio's nephews. From Vuillaume it passed to the Ashmolean Museum.
Made of the finest spruce and figured maple, and finished with a brilliant red varnish, it shines today just the way it did when clutched to the chest of the man who worshiped it--Luigi Tarisio.
This is one of my favorite tales of greatness and value, I hoped you liked it. Come back Wednesday when I outline The Great Art Exchange. Here is a sneak peek at the first Circa chair I'm looking to barter for Art.
Thank you so much for the continued support,
Peace'
Scott
