It’s called the Duport Stradivarius cello, and was made by Antonio Stradivari in 1711, during Stradivari’s golden period. In 1812 Jean-Louis Duport, then the cello’s owner, was in Paris, where he ran into Napoleon Bonaparte. The emperor, according to legend, insisted on trying out Duport’s cello. “How the devil do you hold this thing, Monsieur Duport?” Napoleon is alleged to have asked.  

The cello to this day bears a dent that was supposedly made by Napoleon’s boot. 

Twentieth-century cello phenomenon Mstislav Rostropovich played the instrument from 1974 till his death in 2007. 

In 2008 the Duport Stradivarius cello was bought by the Nippon Music Foundation for 20 million dollars. 

Only 63 cellos made by Stradivari currently exist. They are rare enough to be sometimes, as in this case, more valuable even than his violins. The most expensive Stradivarius violin at the moment is the 1721 “Lady Blunt” Strad, which was sold to the Nippon Foundation in 2011 for $15.9 million. All proceeds went to benefit victims of the Japanese tsunami and earthquake. 

Although Cello|Fresno will not, as far as we know, feature any Stradivari cellos, it will feature plenty of regular cellos, all played by wonderful young musicians from around the country as well as from the Central Valley. They will be joined by an enthusiastic cello faculty that includes artistic directors Thomas Loewenheim, Emilio Colón, and Cara Colón; special guest artists Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Helga Winold; and guest faculty Bongshin Ko, Thomas Landschoot, Jonathan Ruck, and Ka-Wai Yu.

Rostropovich with the Duport Strad

Rostropovich with the Duport Strad

Oh…and a famous Stradivarius violin will be coming to Fresno soon: violinist Vadim Gluzman will be playing his Leopold Auer Stradivarius when he performs as guest artist at our Love Conquers All concert on February 9, 2020.

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