311-year-old Stradivarius violin sells for $11 million, almost world record

A Stradivarius violin made in 1714 was sold for $11.25 million by the Sotheby’s auction house Friday, establishing a scholarship fund at the New England Conservatory of Music.

The term Stradivarius, a byword for violin quality, refers to pieces made by 18th-century Italian craftsman Antonio Stradivari. Strad is also used as a shortened way to refer to these violins.

This specific violin is called the “Joachim-Ma” for two of its previous owners. Its newest owner is choosing to remain anonymous, Sotheby’s told The New York Times.

Sotheby’s projected the “Joachim-Ma” to sell for $12 million-$18 million, the upper range of which would have broken the Guinness record for the most expensive instrument sold at auction held by the 1721 “Lady Blunt” Stradivarius, which sold for $15.9 million by the Tarisio auction house in 2011.

Instead, the piece fell short of the projection, though the millions raised through its sale will go toward the NEC scholarships.

The Boston school had possession of the violin because the music teacher Si-Hon Ma’s estate bequeathed it to the institution in 2015. During his time as a student, he was taught by a disciple of another previous owner, fellow violinist Joseph Joachim.

During the violin’s time at the school, some NEC students played the “Joachim-Ma” themselves.

“The instrument had a particular way that it wanted to be played, and a particular set of colors that, when I unlocked them, were extremely beautiful,” musician and NEC graduate Alexi Kenney told The Boston Globe.

NEC President Andrea Kalyn told Boston’s WBUR-FM, “It’s been a privilege for NEC to have it. Its impact on the few students who’ve played it has been incredible. I think [the sale] builds on the legacy of the instrument. It’s wonderful to have a historic instrument that really gets to create the future.”