Soil Stradivarius

The Soil Stradivarius (pronounced [swal]) of 1714 is an antique violin made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona (1644–1737). A product of Stradivari’s golden period, it is considered one of his finest. The Soil was acquired by Yehudi Menuhin in 1950 and in 1986 by its current owner Itzhak Perlman, who played this instrument while recording the Cinema Serenade with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1997.

One of two Stradivari violins named after Belgian industrialist Amédée Soil, this instrument is characterized by its brilliant red varnish and a two-piece maple back with the flames of the grain joined, descending from the edges toward the center. The extended provenance of this violin includes the French luthier and collector Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the Viennese collector Oscar Bondy, who also owned the Hellier Stradivarius of 1679.

Other sobriquet Soil violins are the Stradivari of 1708 and two by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, 1733 and 1736.

In fiction

The Soil Stradivarius appears in the video game Fallout 3 as an item to be recovered from Vault 92, an underground bunker created to preserve the musical arts after a nuclear holocaust.

External links

• Soil Stradivarius in the Cozio Archive at tarisio.com