Amati, del Gesù and Gagliano: more beautiful instruments from Music@Menlo

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Take a look at these exclusive images of more instruments from the Music@Menlo Summer Festival, which was held from 19 July until its conclusion on 10 August. In previous weeks, we’ve showcased the festival’s instruments old and new, from Amati to Zygmuntowicz, and (almost) everything in between!

Masumi Per Rostad performs on a 1619 Brothers Amati viola. Interestingly, another violist at the festival, Paul Neubauer, plays a Brothers Amati viola, made one year later in 1620.

Violinist Francisco Fullana performs on a Guarneri ’del Gesù’ violin from 1735. He spoke on The Strad Podcast about this instrument in 2023, dubbed the ’Mary Portman, ex-Kreisler’ violin, which is on long term loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the Stradivari Society of Chicago. Fullana has been playing on it since November 2016.

The violin has a fascinating history. In 1949, after being inherited from Mary Portman by Elsie Playfair, the violin was bought by London collector Gerald Segelman for £1,200 (Miss Playfair also owned another Guarneri now known as ’ex Playfair’ which she sold at Sothebys in 1963). By the 1960s, Segelman had built up a formidable collection of highly prized violins including Stradivaris, Guarneris and Amatis which he kept in his small flat in London.

In 1991 he was eventually persuaded to sell the ’Mary Portman’ through London dealer Peter Biddulph for £600,000.  It was then sold through Chicago dealers Bein & Fushi to a client for $2 million.

Paul Huang is another violinist who has the opportunity to play on a Guarneri ’del Gesù’ violin. He performs on the ‘ex-Wieniawski’ from 1742, thanks to a loan from an anonymous donor through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

It takes its name from the Polish virtuoso and composer Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880), who owned several instruments throughout his life, but is said to have favoured del Gesùs over Stradivaris later in his career. The violin resembles the ’Ysaÿe’ Guarneri ’del Gesù’ violin from 1740 (now played by Benjamin Beilman, another Music@Menlo artist whose instrument was previously featured), but is slightly larger and more rugged in appearance.

Finally, cellist Sihao He performs on a 1758 Gennaro Gagliano cello. It is one of the four instruments loaned to the Shanghai Quartet from J&A Beare. He joined the quartet and also the faculty of Tianjin Juilliard School as part of its resident ensemble for the upcoming 2024-25 season.

Photos courtesy Harrison Truong