An author from Northern Ireland wants a Stradivari found under a bed in Derry in 1988 to play a part in the city's UK City of Culture celebrations in 2013, reports the Derry Journal.

Nuala McAllister Hart explored the story of the 1697 'Molitor' Stradivari while doing research for a new book about the history of music and theatre in Derry. The violin, which may have once been owned by Napoleon Bonaparte, is now played by US soloist Anne Akiko Meyers, who bought it in a Tarisio auction in October 2010 for $3.6m.

The violin's stay in Derry began in 1957 when it became the property of William Anderson and his sister Muriel. The instrument apparently remained under William's bed until his death in 1988, when Muriel offered it to the Red Cross. It was sold in London a year later.

Hart has approached both Tarisio and Anne Akiko Meyers about the possibility of the Stradivari being played in Derry as part of its City of Culture programme, but said: 'For it to happen we would need the help of some of the big arts organisations. I think that if the city was to pull this off it would be an amazing story and it would mean Muriel’s 'Molitor' would be heard in the city one last time.'

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