By Linnea Covington

An old violin is a story in itself and Antonio Stradivari of Cremona is known as one of the finest authors.

On April 2 another person will have the chance to become a character in the story when Christie’s auctions off a Stradivari violin called the “Solomon, Ex-Lambert,” named after the last two owners.

“The history of ownership is as exciting as the instrument itself,” said Kerry Keane, the auction house’s head of musical instruments, at a preview in Midtown the other day.

That is where the tales come in.

The violin was last purchased in 1972 for 17,500 pounds sterling by Seymour Solomon, co-founder of Vanguard Records, who studied violin at Julliard and made millions on a record label famous for folk, blues and jazz. He bought the varnished masterpiece from a British concert violinist, Dorothy Mary Murray Lambert whose husband bought it for her for 1600 pounds sterling in 1922. This rare violinist among British women of her era was lionized for her enchanting playing of contemporary composers and her rendition of Delius’s Sonata No. 1 was immortalized in a portrait by the Edwardian painter Hugh Riviere.

The first recorded owner was Berlin instrument dealer August Riechers who sold it to a music student, “Miss Price,” from whom it passed to British Stradivari collector Robert Bower before it was acquired by the London dealer from whom Lambert’s husband bought it.

But this provenance meant little to Julliard music professor Lewis Kaplan who brought to the preview four students who would take turns coaxing music from its strings. “The difference between a good violin and a great violin has to do with the player,” said Kaplan.

The first student to be handed the beautifully arched piece of wood was
Dimiti Lukin of Russia who furrowed his brow as he concentrated on an excerpt from the concerto he was playing. When he was signaled to end he smiled and said, “I don’t want to stop.”

Linda Baerlund, 21, of Finland, had a look of serenity across her face as she played the beginning of a Tchaikovsky violin concerto. At the end of the performance she seemed a loss for words and gave the crowd two thumbs up.

Later, she said, “When playing you can just express your soul without working so hard and you can enjoy the music without worrying about playing.”

These sentiments were echoed by her classmate, 22-year-old David Coucheron of Norway, who was happy to have the opportunity not only to play the Cadenza from Sibelius on the “Solomon, Ex-Lambert,” but to also have the loan of another Stradivari violin for his daily practice. “It is very interesting to play,” he said. “They are from the same family but they are different.”

According to Suzanne Fushi of the Stradivari Society, the Italian artisan made about 1,200 violins and half are still around today. They are known throughout the classical music world for their high quality craftsmanship and superb sound.

Baerlund, who graduates in May, said she would give her leg to have her own Stradivari because it does everything you would wish a violin to do.

About playing this violin Lukin said, “It responds to you by giving the sound quality you want. Get to know it and it will do everything for you.”

Kaplan addressed the audience at the end of the set and said, “Well, they said it plays by itself—would any of you like to play?”

Nobody volunteered.

The story continues when the instrument, which is expected to fetch more than $1 million, goes on the auction block soon.