Senior violinist Rebecca Chan will debut the 300-year-old violin to Australian audiences next week.
Her eyelids fluttered and twitched as her fingers rippled across the 18th century Italian beauty she had clamped under her neck.
"I feel very much that a violin has its own soul and it's lived through so many lifetimes and one sense that very much even making a few sounds on it,” she said.
The sound and price of this treasure from renowned violin makers the Guaneris is enough to bring tears to your eyes.
The ACO bought it for $1.44 million but it’s already proving a sound investment.
Its value has risen by $250,000 in the six months since it was purchased.
"I can't think of really anything else in the world which keeps improving with age and which no amount of modern technology or science has been able to really, adequately replicate," said Rebecca Chan.
Jessica Block from the ACO’s instrument fund said there’s plenty of interest from investors wanting to help musicians reach their full potential.
"There is a philanthropic, social impact element to this which means that you can sit in a concert hall, and feel that you've had a real part to play in putting this instrument on the stage," she said.
Perth lawyer Ivan Hoffman said he gets a kick out of the opportunity his investment brings to talented musicians who could never afford it themselves.
“It gives the musician great confidence and opens doors for him or her to have such an instrument," he said.
Rebecca Chan will play the Guarneri for the first time in Australia in a performance of Mahler 4 and Sibelius 6 from June 16 to 29.
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