New England Conservatory recently announced that the estate of world-renowned violinist, educator and NEC alum, Si-Hon Ma has gifted the 1714 “Joachim-Ma” Stradivarius violin to the school.
The three-hundred-year old instrument was previously owned by 19th century, Hungarian virtuoso, Joseph Joachim who died in 1907. Joachim owned no less than 10 Stradivari violins during his lifetime, but he is most closely associated with the Cremona-built “Joachim, Ma” violin, which was most likely the violin he played when he premiered the Brahms Violin Concerto Opus 77 in 1879. Joachim and Ma were united by a similar artistic path, as Ma’s teachers Alfred Wittenberg and Richard Burgin, were both students to Joachim. Ma purchased the Stradivari owned by Joachim on August 15, 1967, the 60th anniversary of the death of Joachim and performed on it for almost his entire career. The violin is named after both musicians.
