The Laub–Petschnikoff Stradivarius is an antique violin made by the Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona (1644–1737), which is variously dated as from 1722 and 1727. It is one of only 700 known surviving Stradivarius instruments.
History It was once owned and played by Ferdinand Laub (1832–1875) and later by Alexander Petschnikoff (1873–1948), to whom it was given by Princess Ourosoff.Henry C. Lahee. Famous Violinists of Today and Yesterday, p. 297 (L.C. Page and Company; 1899, 1916)
In the early 1960s, the Laub–Petschnikoff was acquired by Rembert Wurlitzer, a New York City dealer of fine string instruments. It was then purchased by Canadian philanthropist J. W. McConnell, who donated the instrument to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 1961 for use by the concertmaster, then Calvin Sieb.Eric McLean (November 22, 1961). Violin With a History. A Stradivarius for Montreal. The Montreal Star, pp. 1–2 Sieb subsequently purchased the violin, which was estimated to be worth $500,000 in 1984.Mike Boone (July 28, 1984). MSO's Roberts doesn't fiddle around with his violin. The Gazette, p. 49 Yehudi Menuhin performed with it at a concert in Montreal in 1963, after his own violin broke a string.Eric McLean (October 7, 1963). Mehta, Menuhin in Festival Finale. The Montreal Star, p. 12
Description The back is maple and the front is spruce. Unusually, the maple used is thought to come from Turkey. In Fritz Meyer's Famous Violins and their Fates (1920), the violin is described as resembling the Sarasate "Lieblingsgeige", with an "ingratiating singing voice" and an "indescribably sweet inner quality" for which according to Meyer, it was globally known. Henry C. Lahee described it in 1899 as "magnificent", commenting that it was then "said to be the most costly instrument in existence". In 1968, Jacob Siskind described the violin as an "ideal" orchestral instrument but considered it to lack a "large enough or sufficiently penetrating sound" when playing the solo part in a concerto, as its sound "blends too easily with that of the orchestra and is often lost completely."Jacob Siskind (January 23, 1968). Mehta Returns in Concert. The Gazette, p. 18
References
Further reading Antonio Stradivari 1727 ca. VL Laub, Petschnikoff Lili Schober Petschnikoff (1874–1957) Some High-Priced Violins The Violinist 2: 12 (1901) Stradivarius: The Ex-Laub Stradivarius, Calvin Sieb: The Development of a Violinist