A 300-Year-Old Stradivarius Violin Sounded in Brussels, Brought to Life by a Famed Armenian Violinist

During a recent concert in Brussels, the audience had the undoubted honor of hearing live the capabilities of 300-year-old instruments created by Antonio Stradivari.

Instruments are like watches. You can buy something budget-friendly at the beginning of your artistic career, but in the world of music, you'll also find the equivalent of luxurious Rolexes and Rolls-Royces . When it comes to violins, Stradivarius instruments definitely belong in this category.

There are many myths and legends about the violins made by the Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari , but his name is a kind of seal of quality .

Graphic of Antonio Stradivari examining an instrument from the book What We Hear in Music by Anne Faulkner. Photo: Viktor Bobrov / Wikimedia Commons / CC0 (Public domain)

The instruments he creates, regardless of their condition, always attract interest from musicians , musicologists , and collectors , who are willing to pay staggering sums for them at auction. Musicians and the public alike are often convinced of the uniqueness of these instruments.

In July of this year, Armenian violinist Sergey Khachatryan received a unique instrument as part of the Stretton Society 's program, which lends rare and exceptional instruments to the world's most distinguished musicians. Violinist Leonidas Kavakos , cellist Pablo Ferrández , and violinist Vilde Frang were also recognized at the same time.

Sergey Khachatryan Photo. Sergey Khachatryan / Facebook

Khachatryan will have the use of the "Kiesewetter" violin, named after the 19th-century German violinist Christoph Gottfried Kiesewetter, for ten years. Made around 1724, the violin has already been in the hands of masters such as Maxim Vengerov . The instrument is worth approximately $16 million!

Last Friday in Brussels, Khakhtaryan performed Brahms's violin concerto with the Belgian National Orchestra .

" Brahms's Violin Concerto, which premiered in 1878, is one of the most famous concertos in the violin repertoire. Exceptionally demanding, it pushes the instrument's technical limits with challenging double stops, daring octave leaps, and complex arpeggios," we read on the orchestra's website.

The audience had the opportunity to hear live what the unique instrument created by Stradivari sounds like.

“It’s a great joy to be able to create this relationship between me as an artist and the instrument… it’s a truly extraordinary instrument with a beautiful sound and complex structure,” Khachatryan told Reuters just before the event.

The Armenian also emphasized that thanks to such an extraordinary violin, the beauty of the German composer's music can be fully revealed.