The

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...

of 1730, also called the De Munck-Feuermann, is an antique

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

crafted by Italian

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', as well as the colloq ...

. It was notably owned and played by Ernest de Munck and

Emanuel Feuermann Emanuel Feuermann (November 22, 1902 – May 25, 1942) was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century. Life Feuermann was born in 1902 in Kolomyja, Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Kolomyia, Ukraine) to ...

Steven Isserlis Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse reper ...

has described the instrument as his "dream cello ..it has everything." It is currently owned by the

Nippon Music Foundation The Nippon Music Foundation (NMF) is an organisation under the supervision of the Arts and Culture Promotion Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs, a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education. Established 3 March 1972, its stated purpose ...

, who has loaned the instrument to a number of prominent cellists.

Background

The ''De Munck-Feuermann'', while labelled 1710, was made during Stradivari's "late period". It owes its nicknames to two notable owners and players of the instrument, cellists Ernest de Munck (acquired in 1869) and

(acquired in 1934), the latter being considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. After Feuermann's death in 1942, the instrument was acquired by American collector Russell B. Kingman, and then sold to cellist

Aldo Parisot Aldo Simoes Parisot (September 30, 1918 – December 29, 2018) was a Brazilian-born American cellist and cello teacher. He was first a member of the Juilliard School faculty, and then went on to serve as a music professor at the Yale School of M ...

in 1956. The instrument was sold by Parisot to the

in December 1996. It was on loan to

until May 2011, then to

Danjulo Ishizaka Danjulo Ishizaka (born 14 May 1979) is a German cellist and professor at the Berlin University of Arts and City of Basel Music Academy Life Ishizaka, born in Bonn, Germany, is the son of the German piano teacher Ruth Nathrath and Japanese im ...

. On 24 September 2019, it was loaned to

Camille Thomas Camille Thomas (born May 1988 in Paris, France) is a Franco-Belgian cellist. Biography Camille Thomas began studying the cello at the age of 4. At 10 years old, she studied under Marcel Bardon at the ''Conservatoire national de région de P ...

for a period of one year.

Measurements

The ''De Munck-Feuermann'' is characterised by its long narrow shape. Its detailed dimensions, as measured by

calliper A caliper (British spelling also calliper, or in plurale tantum sense a pair of calipers) is a device used to measure the dimensions of an object. Many types of calipers permit reading out a measurement on a ruled scale, a dial, or a digital di ...

, are:

References

1730 works Stradivari cellos Stradivari instruments {{Cello-stub