violin
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume
built in Paris in ± 1850
A violin built by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume in Paris, ca. 1850.
History of this instrument
Giulio Greci has been playing this Vuillaume since the Musical Instrument Fund purchased the violin in 2022. The violin belonged to the late Wim van Keulen, a second violinist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. This violin therefore has a rich history; it has been on many tours, has resonated in the most beautiful concert halls, and has been played for the greatest conductors.
Anna de Vey Mestdagh, a second violinist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and a columnist, paints a vivid picture of who the violinist Wim van Keulen was
in this column.
About the builder Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume
In September 1867, ten years before his death, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume wrote about the violins, violas, and cellos he had submitted that year to the Great Exhibition in Paris; “I exhibited two quartets that embody everything I know, in...
