"Leduc1745"copy

The man whose name it now bears was a Parisian architect and amateur violinist. The violin was sold to him by J.B. Vuillaume, who had obtained it from Luigi Tarisio. J.S. Phipps retained the ownership until 1970, he provided it for the use of Henryk Szeryng, who was eventually able to purchase it in that year. In 1972 Szeryng relinquished a fine Stradivari  of 1734 know as the “Hercules” in favour of the “Leduc”, which he kept until his death in 1988.

From the emaciated scroll to the long projecting corners, this violin epitomizes the eroded grace of Guarneri’s last work, yet the elongated soundholes are cut with a strikingly sure hand and the whole is clothed in the unmatchable red vanish that lifts this violin far out of the ordinary. The authenticity of the label has never been questioned, and gives the date of 1745; until the Hills published their research in 1931, it was the source of all published accounts of the date of del Gesu’s death.

The magnificent appearance and majestic sound of this wonderful instrument mark the final supreme effort of one of the finest and still the most enigmatic of all the great Cremonese violin makers.