Solomon ex-Lambert Stradivarius

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The Solomon, Ex-Lambert Stradivarius of 1729 derives its name from the late Seymour Solomon, co-founder of Vanguard Records, and amateur violinist who bought the violin at auction in 1972, and from Miss Murray Lambert, a British concert violinist during the 1920-30s who was the previous owner.

Made in Cremona by Antonio Stradivari in 1729, the violin emanates from his mature period and, according to Christies retains the bold outline, superb arching and quality materials which account for the power, sonority and tonal balance his work is recognized for.

[edit] Provenance

The first recorded owner of the Solomon, Ex-Lambert Stradivarius was the Berlin dealer and expert August Riechers who sold it to ‘Miss Price’, a student of the violin who was studying in Berlin at the time. From Miss Price the violin passed to the venerable English collector Robert Bower, one of the preeminent connoisseurs of his day who owned no fewer then twenty-four works by Stradivari. By 1922 the violin was sold through the London dealers of John and Arthur Beare to Ernest E. Winterbotham who paid the price of £1,600 and gave the violin to his wife Dorothy Mary Murray Lambert.

Known as Miss Murray Lambert, she was among the few British women of the 1920’s and 30’s who pursued a career as a concert violinist. A student of both Carl Flesch and Leopold Auer she was a champion of British contemporary composers and a prolific performer of the works of Sir Hamilton Harty. It is said that her performances of Frederick Delius’s Violin Sonata No.1 inspired the artist Hugh Riviere R.A. to create his final full length portrait entitled Delius Sonata. By the late 1930’s she withdrew from the concert stage to concentrate on teaching which she pursued through the 1950’s.

Following her death the violin was offered at auction in 1972 where it was presented as The Property of Miss Murray Lambert and sold for £17,500 to Seymour Solomon.

On 23 February 2007 there was a demonstration performance of the Solomon, Ex-Lambert by violinist Ruth Palmer for the press launch for the auction by Christies. The violin was eventually sold for US$2.7 million dollars on 2 April 2007.