Barjansky Stradivarius


The Barjansky Stradivarius of c.1690 is an antique cello fabricated by the Italian Cremonese luthier Antonio Stradivari.

Eponym

The Barjansky is named after Russian cellist Alexandre Barjansky, who played the instrument during the first half of the 20th century. Barjansky was the dedicatee of Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo which he performed on this instrument. Barjansky premiered the Delius Concerto on the instrument in Vienna in January 1923.

Age

The date of its making is unclear. In an interview with The Strad Julian Lloyd Webber said:

Description

The Sotheby's 1983 catalogue describes the Barjansky Stradivarius as being 29 7/8 inches along the back, with a golden brown varnish.

History

Barjansky was the previous owner when the Cremonese cello came up for auction at Sotheby's in 1983. It sold for a record price to British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber whose previous instrument was a Guadagnini of the 1700s. The purchase price was undisclosed.
A comparable "Strad" sold around that time for $650,000 in New York. Itzhak Perlman bought the 1714 Soil Stradivari from Yehudi Menuhin for £600,000 in 1986. Another Stradivarius cello, broken when it fell during a photoshoot in Spain in April 2012, was valued by Sotheby's at $20 million.
Since then the Barjansky Stradivarius has been played by Lloyd Webber, who has made more than 30 award-winning recordings on the instrument, including a renowned version of Elgar Cello Concerto, conducted by Yehudi Menuhin.
Chapter Eight of Margaret Campbell's biography of Lloyd Webber, Married to Music, is called "The Barjansky" Strad.
The Barjansky Stradivarius has reportedly been offered for sale by the violin expert Florian Leonhard.

Recordings made with the Barjansky

Works with orchestra

All first performances were by Julian Lloyd Webber, except the January 1923 concerto by Alexandre Barjansky.