From Stradivari to Zygmuntowicz: the instruments of Music@Menlo

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Take a look at these exclusive images of Music@Menlo’s artists and their instruments.

The instruments range from the venerable to the modern. Violinist Lun Li performs on the 1735 ‘Samazeuilh’ Stradivari violin, which is on loan to him from the Nippon Music Foundation. Aside from Gustave Samazeuilh, Mischa Elman was the longest owner of this violin.

The next oldest instrument is Music@Menlo artistic director David Finckel’s Guadagnini cello, from 1754. This cello is one of only a handful of cellos from Guadagnini’s Milan period. Finckel discovered the cello in 1981 at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. He purchased it from a former pupil of Casals, who told David that Casals used to play it during their lessons.

This instrument has a sister cello, made by Guadagnini in the same year, and has been been played by New York Philharmonic principal cellist, Carter Brey, for most of his professional career. The two instruments are almost identical, apart from the back and sides - Finckel’s cello is made from poplar, while Brey’s is made from maple.

Next is a violin that was made in 1759 by Gennaro Gagliano, played by Kristin Lee. The violin retains its original neck from 1759.

Moving onto the modern day, we have violinist Chad Hoopes, who plays an instrument by Samuel Zygmuntowicz from 1991. The violin is Zygmuntowicz’s copy of the 1740 ’Ysaÿe’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ that formerly belonged to Isaac Stern.

’There was an ease and an immediacy, so many qualities that I loved,’ Hoopes told The Strad in an interview from 2021. ’I tried it and fell in love with it in about five minutes because there were so many things I could do, so quickly, that I wasn’t able to do on an older instrument.’

Another artist playing on a Zygmuntowicz instrument is Matthew Lipman. He performs on a viola made in 2021. ’I worked directly with Sam on specifications and personalisations,’ says Lipman. ’It fits me perfectly!’

Audience members will have the chance to hear these instruments and their players throughout the 2024 Music@Menlo Summer Festival, which commenced on 19 July and runs until 10 August. Find out more here.

All photos courtesy Harrison Truong.