Anne Akiko Meyers: The Girl with Two Stradivarius Violins ( & a del Gesu!)

By: Debra Krein of Fein Violins

Anne Akiko Meyers is one of the greatest violinists of our time. (Not to mention, she's gorgeous!)

Photograph by Andrew Eccles

Do you find classical music boring? Think it's too old school and just plain dull? I'm a classically trained violinist, but personally, I would rather listen to hip-hop music than classical music any day of the week. Yet, one listen to any of Anne's numerous recordings and even the greatest skeptic will be moved, as you can literally feel the emotion emanating from Anne's awe-inspiring performances on her violin.

Speaking of her violin, Anne Akiko Meyers owns two pretty awesome Stradivarius violins. TWO!

Glitz, Celebrity & Sex Appeal in Classical Music

Written by: Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins

One of my musical heroes, Gidon Kremer, recently cancelled out of playing in the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. In a, public letter to the director Mr. Kremer decries a classical music world "in which 'stars' count more than creativity, ratings more than genuine talent, numbers more than...sounds." He also points out a "misguided fixation with glamour and sex appeal."

'Lady Blunt' Going Once, Going Twice, Sold - For $16 Million Dollars!

Written by: Amy Tobin of Fein Violins

I am a little late in posting my reaction to the recent sale of the 'Lady Blunt' Stradivarius. Perhaps I just needed a little time to process the fact that this gorgeous, near perfect condition, absolutely incomparable violin sold at auction for nearly $16M dollars! Here, let me put the zeros after that so you can get the full effect: $16,000,000

The top of the 'Lady Blunt'

image by Tarisio Auctions

The 'Lady Blunt' Stradivarius is the new record holder.
The almost $16M that it sold for is nearly 4 times the amount of the previous record, set by the sale of the 'Molitor' Stradivarius, for $3.6M, to Anne Akiko Meyers in 2010.

The other astonishing fact about the sale of this instrument, put up at auction by the Nippon Music Foundation,