In two days, Sotheby’s will open bidding for the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius, an extraordinarily well-preserved example of an instrument produced at the height of Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari’s “Golden Period,” during which his skills were at their apex. Crafted in 1714, the violin is expected to sell for between $12 million and $18 million in a single-lot sale that’s part of the auction house’s 2025 Old Masters series. If the hammer price exceeds $16 million, the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius will become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold at auction, toppling the $15.9 million record set by the Lady Blunt Stradivarius, which was sold in 2011 by Tarisio Auctions.
In a statement, Mari-Claudia Jiménez, the soon-to-be-ex president of Sotheby’s Americas, called the Joachim-Ma a “pinnacle of artistic craftsmanship and a direct link to some of the most defining moments in classical music.” She might be referring to the fact that it’s thought that composer Johannes Brahms was inspired to write his “Violin Concerto in D Major” after hearing the instrument’s rich tone. Hungarian virtuoso Joseph Joachim (1831-1907), for whom the violin is named, purchased the Stradivarius when he was just 18 years old for what was then a record sum, and he played it throughout his career—including at the 1879 premiere of Brahms’ “Violin Concerto in D,” during which the famous composer conducted.
The instrument’s other namesake, Si-Hon Ma (1926-2009), was also a violin virtuoso. He acquired the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius in 1969 and, similar to Joachim, played it regularly—often in concert with his wife, pianist Tung Kwong-Kwong. When he passed, his estate gifted the instrument to the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston, where he’d earned a master’s degree in 1950 after moving to the U.S. from China in 1948.
The gift came with a provision that the school could only sell the Joachim-Ma to fund student scholarships, and according to NEC president Andrea Kalyn, the Sotheby’s sale will establish the largest named student scholarship program in the history of the institution. “While it has been a privilege to have one of the world’s finest violins, this sale will be transformational for our students,” she said in a statement. “It fulfills our responsibility to ensure a violin of this caliber is properly maintained and used as the concert instrument it was meant to be.”
Not that it wasn’t used during its time at the conservatory, where it was loaned to advanced students. In an article published in The Strad, NEC graduate Alexi Kenney described what it was like to play the 300-year-old violin: “Layer upon layer of complexity exists within the sound, carrying with it darkness, depth, and a silken sweetness that doesn’t overpower… They say violins carry with them the souls of their previous owners and players—maybe it’s Joachim’s heart that I hear in it.”
No doubt anticipating the fact that some would wonder whether its maker alone truly justifies the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius’ estimate, Sotheby’s secured acclaimed violinist Charlie Siem to play the “Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77” on the storied instrument, and you can hear it singing here: