Soil Stradivarius

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The Soil Stradivarius (pronounced “swah”) of 1714 is an antique violin made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona (1644-1737). A product of Stradivari’s golden period, it is one of his finest.

One of two Stradivari violins named after Belgian industrialist Amédée Soil, this instrument is characterized by its brilliant red varnish and a two-piece maple back with the flames of the grain joined, descending from the edges toward the center.

The provenance of this violin includes the French luthier and collector Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the Viennese collector Oscar Bondy, who also owned the Hellier Stradivarius of 1679. The Soil was acquired by Yehudi Menuhin in 1950, and in 1986 by Itzhak Perlman who with this instrument recorded the Cinema Serenade with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1997.

Other sobriquet Soil violins are the Stradivari of 1708, and two by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù of 1733, and 1736.