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“La Reine Elisabeth”
purchased
during its anniversary year

To mark its 20th anniversary, the Musical Instrument Fund has succeeded in acquiring a very special violin. It is a Venetian violin from 1725, built by Petrus Guarnerius. The instrument was once owned by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, who gifted the violin “out of friendship and gratitude” to the renowned Belgian violinist Carlo van Neste. This exceptional instrument will be played by one of the Netherlands’ greatest musical talents of the moment, the 29-year-old violinist Frederieke Saeijs from The Hague.

News
4 August 2008 by Marcel Schopman

Last year, the Musical Instrument Fund decided to shift the focus of its acquisition policy toward a different quality of instruments than in recent years. This change in policy is primarily due to an emerging generation of highly talented musicians in the Netherlands who need a type of instrument that the fund currently has very few of in its collection. This Guarnerius is therefore, hopefully, only the first of a number of top-quality instruments that the Musical Instrument Fund intends to acquire in the future in order to provide structural support for the Dutch music scene.

“La Reine Elisabeth” is the most expensive violin the Musical Instrument Fund has ever purchased. The purchase was made possible in part by the Louisa van der Velden Foundation, which has supported the Musical Instrument Fund for many years, and by contributions from countless private individuals.

The public presentation of the instrument will take place on November 18, during the Music Instrument Fund’s Anniversary Concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.