4/3/2007

Jess Boettger

Solomon, Ex-Lambert sells for $2.7 million.

The buyer of an 18th century Stradivari violin got it for a bargain, his rep says. The Stradivari sold for just over $2.7 million, nearly double the pre-sale estimate. (It was expected that the violin woud go for anywhere between $1 million and $1.5 million.) Still, buying agent Ric Heinl, who represents the anonymous buyer, dubbed the purchase a bargain, saying that the instrument was worth "considerably more than that."  
  
The instrument is from a "mature" period of creation from the maestro Stradivari. The instrument is known as the Solomon, Ex-Lambert and was sold at a Christie's auction.  
  
The Solomon, Ex-Lambert was made in 1729 in Cremona, Italy. It is in superb shape, having retained the power, sonority, and tonal balance, in addition to its physical contours. The name is derived from prior owners: Murray Lambert, a British concert violinist from the 1920s-30s, and Seymour Solomon, an amateur violinist and also co-founder of Vanguard Records.  
  
The Solomon, Ex-Lambert's first owner on record was Berlin dealer August Riechers.