In 1879 the revered Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, widely regarded as among the most influential musicians of the 19th century, performed at the premiere of his friend Johannes Brahms’ self-conducted Violin Concerto in D Major. The concerto is seen today as one of the most iconic pieces of classical music ever played on a violin, and Joachim performed it on a Stradivarius.

Now known as the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius, the violin is up for auction by Sotheby’s New York on Feb 7. It’s valuation of between $12 to $18 million sets it up to become the most expensive music instrument ever sold. The current record belongs to the Lady Blunt Stradivarius, named after its former owner and granddaughter of Lord Byron, which sold for $15.9 million in 2011.

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What sets the Joachim-Ma apart isn’t just its rarity and impeccable craftsmanship, but also its excellent provenance and pristine condition. “This violin can be played tomorrow and enjoyed not just as a beautiful piece of artistry but as a functional instrument,” says Mari-Claudia Jimenez, chairman and head of global business development at Sotheby’s.

The 300-year-old violin was created by the Italian master Antonio Stradivari in 1714 during his renowned “golden period”. It was during this time that Stradivari honed his craft and created violins that are considered still to be peerless in the quality of their sound. “Stradivarius violins, with their depth and warmth, are regarded as the best instruments that Stradivari made, and Stradivari is the best of the best,” says Jimenez.

Eighty-eight years after Joachim’s historic performance, which coincided with the 60th anniversary of the maestro’s death, Si-Hon Ma, a violinist and educator, bought the instrument with profits from his invention of the Sihon mute—a sound dampener that sits behind the bridge of stringed instruments and doesn’t need to be removed when not in use. He performed with it until his death in 2009.

Seven years later, after it spent some time in the Violin Museum in Cremona, Ma’s estate honored his wish for the instrument to be donated to his alma mater, New England Conservatory. The school, which was the first independent music conservatory in the US and teaches 775 students from around the world, has been using the instrument selectively since then. “A small number of individual students have played it over the years, and it has been an extraordinary experience for them,” says NEC President Andrea Kalyn.

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But the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius violin was given to the school with the provision that it could one day be sold to support student scholarships, and that time has now come. Auction proceeds will go toward setting up the largest named scholarship in the school’s history and other endowments. “We’ve invested a lot of resources to preserve the instrument over the years and we now want to transition those resources and the proceeds of the sale to support our students and future students,” says Kalyn.

The Stradivarius auction comes at a time when the uber rich are looking for increasingly eclectic pieces to add to their collections.

“We’ve entered firmly into the world of selling extraordinary things that can almost transcend artistry and transcend their utilitarian use,” says Jiminez of Sotheby’s. “When you are as wealthy as some of our clients are, you kind of run out of things to buy. People are getting wealthier—wealth numbers are exponentially larger than 20 years ago—and this leads to people buying all sorts of different things that they wouldn’t have before.”

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Citadel’s Ken Griffin is a good example. Earlier this year the billionaire bought a Stegosaurus dinosaur skeleton named “Apex” for $44.6 million, and in 2021 at the height of the last crypto boom, he purchased a copy of the US constitution for $43.2 million, both via Sotheby’s. Griffin has loaned his copy of the constitution to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas and pledged to similarly loan the dinosaur to a museum.

“Ken doesn’t typically collect these things, but because our collectors can have anything they want, they buy really special things,” explains Jimenez.

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The growing multimillion-dollar market for unique objects, including rare Shakespeare folios and ancient texts and sports memorabilia, is a positive sign that the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius violin could well be on its way to achieving, or even surpassing, its valuation at auction next year.  

“This isn’t just something that a violin or instrument aficionado would want,” says Jimenez, noting it would be ideal if they did want to play it. “This is for anyone who wants to own something that is the best of the best, the most extraordinary, or the most special of their kind.”

For those wanting a glimpse before February’s auction, potential buyers and admirers can see the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius in London and Hong Kong exhibitions early in the new year.