Thibaud's violin & current protective methods.

[Carl-Victor]

The violin owned by Thibaud and lost during his fatal airplane crash was a 1709 Stradivari, and owned by Baillot at one time, I believe. I am curious as to what current methods are used to try to keep similarly valuable instruments from vanishing in case of crashes or other disasters? Are they sent in some type of indestructible case, sort of a "black box"? Does the amount of insurance depend on the strength of the case?

[Keith Rogers]

Bear with me here ... When I was a kid, my parents left me with my grandparents while they went out on Saturday night. One of the "fun" things we did was watch Lawrence Welk. This past weekend I stumbled across a 50 year anniversary/tribute show on PBS, and made my son watch it with me. (The abused becomes the abuser...) Anyway, at one point, Larry introduces one of the violinists "with his Stradivarius." Curiosity got the better of me, and sure enough, the web yields "Lawrence Welk presents Dick Kesner and his Magic Stradivarius" LPs, among other gems. I also read that Kesner *also* died in a plane crash. I don't want to divert the thread, but does anybody know if he really did have a Strad, and if so, did it go down with the plane, too?

[Michael Darnton]

Kesner's violin apparently was a 1717 named the "Toenniges"--Welk is also listed as an owner at one point (this from Doring's "Iconography of Stradivari".) According to the Welk show website, Welk bought the violin for Kesner. I don't know if the violin still exists, though.

[fiddlecollector]

Michael ,do you know what happened to Ginette Neveu`s Strad, and whether it has a name.I`ve heard she played a 1730 Strad ,but on that DVD Art of the violin it says shes playing a pre 1700.I know it was damaged in the plane crash but not destroyed.

[SeanB]

Dick Kesner was my grandfather. He was killed in an auto accident in 1961. The 1717 was sold to a bank in Chicago in 1966, I do have paperwork on the sale, from Welk and to the Bank.

[Will L]

Sean,

I would appreciate it if you could tell us what you know about your grandfather. When I was learning the violin, things weren't like they are now, obviously. Those of us who hungered to see violinists in the media had few choices. He, along with Florian Zabach, was about it.

Do you know who his teachers were, for example?

As for the ultra strong cases, Carl, I don't think anyone has come up with such a case that would save a violin from a plane crash. I could see trying to design something fireproof and water proof, though, but I doubt they could be carried in the normal way by a violinist.

[jerrytheshycellist]

When I was kid (70s), there was a TV program on French TV called 'Le Grand Echiquier'. It was a sort of talk show for classical musicians. I remember that on one of them, someone brought back the scroll of Ginette Neveu's Strad to Vatelot who was the main guest and he burst into tears. If I remember well, the scroll is all what was left from the violin.

[Omobono]

Michael ,do you know what happened to Ginette Neveu`s Strad, and whether it has a name.I`ve heard she played a 1730 Strad ,but on that DVD Art of the violin it says shes playing a pre 1700.I know it was damaged in the plane crash but not destroyed.

I realise this post has been revived from 2003 but noticed the name Neveu.

I see in Stewart Pollen's book (Stradivari p.40) the suggestion is that the instrument was, damaged beyond use.

The idea of Ginette's body being found still clinging to the instrument in its case is romantic but perhaps not true?

[Omobono]

Has there ever been any finality to the fate of Ginette Neveu's violin?

The stories of her clutching the case when her body was found are mixed with accounts of the case being empty, a local fiddler appearing with a fine instrument, a case of bodies being misidentified and exhumations. Quite a saga.

Is there a definitive report on the event and the fate of the 1730 Strad?

..........................................................................................

Brook, Donald (2007) [1947]. Violinists of To-Day (reprint of second impression ed.). Read Books. pp. 128, fn. ISBN 1-4067-7480-4. "When her body was found, it was observed that her Stradivarius—her most precious possession—was clutched tightly in her arms. The violin, though broken, had not been burned."

Selon certaines sources, le Stradivarius de Ginette Neveu aurait été détruit. D’autres sources prétendaient pourtant que la boite était intacte, mais vide. On a aussi dit que peu de temps après la catastrophe, dans les petits cafés de la côte de l’archipel, un violoneux, un peu illuminé, s’était mis à jouer d’un instrument aux sonorités magiques. Les compagnies d’assurances auraient alors dépêché leurs limiers - mais le précieux violon avait disparu!

Le violoniste français Jacques Thibaud (18180-1953) est également mort dans un avion. En 1953, alors qu'il se rendait en Indochine en compagnie du pianiste René Herbin, leur avion s'est écrasé dans les Alpes françaises. Il n'y avait aucun survivant, et son Stradivarius de 1709 a disparu dans l'accident.

http://kilmann.bleublog.lematin.ch/archive/2008/04/11/a-comme-avion.html