violin

The Musical Instrument Fund acquired this exceptionally beautiful Gennaro Gagliano in 2016 from a German dealer thanks to a donation from a private foundation. That foundation made it possible to purchase several instruments, all of which are now part of the “Willem G. Vogelaar Collection.”

Unfortunately, not much is known about the violin’s history. We do know that it was owned for a long time in the 20th century by a very musical Brazilian-German family. The violin was regularly played by one of the family members, who, among other things, served as first concertmaster of the Bayerischen Rundfunk orchestra. The family sold the violin to a passionate amateur violinist but bought it back years later.

In 2009, the Musical Instrument Fund conducted an extensive selection process in connection with a planned purchase. Dozens of violins from the Netherlands and abroad were brought to Amsterdam, where all instruments were thoroughly tested, examined, and compared. This Gagliano emerged as the best instrument at that time. Unfortunately, the owner ultimately and unexpectedly withdrew the instrument from sale. At the end of 2015, we were notified that the violin was once again on the market. After conducting another comparison with other violins, the Musical Instrument Fund was able to confidently decide to purchase this fantastic violin. Michael Foyle (winner of the 2016 Oskar Back Violin Competition) was the first to play the violin for a year. In 2018, the Music Instrument Fund selected Hawijch Elders as the candidate for the violin. Her first public performance with the violin was featured on the program *Podium Witteman* on Sunday, October 7, 2018.