violin

This violin is part of the “Jumpstart-Sparey Collection,” a collection of ten string instruments that was loaned to the Musical Instrument Fund in 2022. Although most of the ten instruments were built in the 17th and 18th centuries, they all have a modern setup. As a result, the instruments are not suitable for the young musicians of Jumpstart Jr., who are pursuing careers in historical performance practice. This gave rise to the idea of incorporating the instruments into the collection of the Musical Instrument Fund. Since 2023, Robin Veldman has been the fortunate player of the Turin violin.

British violinist Jonathan Sparey was a member of the English Fitz William String Quartet and had been collecting antique violins since the beginning of his career. His collection had grown substantial by then, and he lent nearly all of his instruments—for shorter or longer periods—to various violinists, both in England and abroad. In 2016, together with his wife Elizabeth, he decided to donate part of his collection to the Jumpstart Jr. Foundation.

This violin has been appraised by various experts, and opinions regarding its provenance are not unanimous. It is not unlikely that Giovanni Francesco Celoniato was the maker of this violin, although a different scroll was added at a later date by another maker. Celoniato’s biography notes that very few of his works are known to exist, partly due to the suspicion that many of his instruments were labeled with the names of other makers in order to command a higher price. Instruments bearing an original Celoniato label are extremely rare. For the time being, the Musical Instrument Fund therefore maintains the description that the violin is “attributed to” Celoniato. It is possible that greater certainty regarding its provenance will be obtained at a later stage. Robin Veldman has been playing the violin since 2023.

Read more about the Jumpstart-Sparey collection here.