Posted on 01/31/2014 7:37:57 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
A $100,000 reward was announced Friday for a priceless 300-year-old Stradivarius violin that was stolen in an armed robbery this week.
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond was attacked with a stun gun Monday and robbed of the violin, which has been on indefinite loan to him from its anonymous owners since 2008, a common practice in the music world.
The reward will be offered to anyone who can provide information that results in the safe return of the stolen violin. Officials declined to disclose Friday who, or what organization, is financing the reward.
Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn said the department welcomes the assistance of the reward, while Mark Niehaus, president and executive director of the symphony, expressed gratitude at the support given to the organization and Almond since the robbery.
"We are hopeful that this reward will aid in the recovery of this priceless treasure so that it may be enjoyed by Milwaukee's cultural community and the international arts world for years to come," Niehaus said in a statement.
A Milwaukee police spokesman confirmed Friday that Almond reported the robbers were a man and a woman. Investigators are reviewing security footage and following leads in the case, but no further information was available Friday.
~snip~
In 1962, the Lipinski Stradivarius was sold to Richard Anschuetz, a pianist in New York who spent summers in Milwaukee as a child. Anschuetz purchased it for his wife, the Estonian violinist and child prodigy Evi Liivak, with whom he had performed since the 1940s, according to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
~snip~
Almond was attacked this week after a performance at Wisconsin Lutheran College. The robber fled to a nearby vehicle, described as a maroon or burgundy minivan driven by an accomplice. The violin case was found a short time after the robbery...
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
Another update on the theft of the Lipinski Stradivarius with added details.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Classical music ping
I wondering if in discarding the violins case the perps thought to make it anonymous...?
I wouldnt think this was done by a very bright pair of thieves frankly.
it will probably show up on ebay...and craigslist...and Fazedbook.
how does one market a stolen world famous instrument?
I think all of the world’s dealers in rare and expensive violins know each other; they’re that small of a group.
I don’t believe a layman would be able to distinguish, by visual inspection, between a Stradivarius and some other old violin that had been gathering dust in a music shop or someone’s attic.
/johnny
One steals it for a customer that has already purchased it before the theft.
/johnny
I don’t have a classical music ping list — just borges and Evening Star. Exciting? Surely you jest...:)
Even cooks know stuff like that.
/johnny
I doubt that this violin was dusty. It is played daily by the Concert Master. A little rosin dust, perhaps...
Might have been afraid there was a tracking device in the case.
Pretty sure that was it.
Ping-a-ling.
One steals it for a customer that has already purchased it before the theft.
Exactly. It's setting in someone's music room as we read this thread.
Inside job.
The perp only cares about attention.
He could have stolen all kinds of stuff worth 300k
But, steal a Stradivarius,now you got an audience.
You've probably read about Lorenzo Pellegrini.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22094279
Who knows but with global cooling, the world might be heading in the direction of once again producing Stradivarius-grade lumber.
I tend to stuff I inherit and can fix. ;)
/johnny
Nah, it was commonly talked about among the chefs I worked with. Historical changes in Italian cooking tied to global cooling and the link to Stradivarius. ;)
/johnny
It’s nothing fret about.
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