Bernard Greenhouse’s Five-Decade Partner Sold by Sealed Bid
‘Paganini, Countess of Stanlein’ 1707 Stradivari cello goes on the auction block
Bernard Greenhouse's "The Countess of Stanlein" cello
The longtime instrument of revered cellist Bernard Greenhouse, who died last May at age 85, was scheduled at press time to be sold January 16 through a private sale handled by Reuning & Son Violins in Boston. Purchased by the late Beaux Arts Trio cellist in 1957 for 90,000 DM, the current sale is by sealed bid and the final price is unlikely to be disclosed. However, Christopher Reuning expects the sale price will exceed the current record of $6 million for a cello. [Ed note: The New York Sun has cited industry sources stating that the Nippon Music Foundation purchased Mstislav Rostropovich’s form B “Duport” 1711 Stradivari cello in a private sale for $20 million.]
Greenhouse’s preferred cello since purchasing it, the “Paganini, Countess of Stanlein” is one of just 20 known “forma B” cellos remaining (including three with replaced tops) and has an established provenance that attests to centuries of recognition of its significance.
In addition to Greenhouse, many of the string world’s greatest musicians, dealers, and luthiers have been connected to this instrument. The Countess’ provenance includes Nicolò Paganini, Paul Grümmer, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Jacques Français, Simone Sacconi, and the recently departed René Morel, whose two years spent restoring this cello in the ’90s were documented in Nicholas Delbanco’s book The Countess of Stanlein Restored: A History of the Countess of Stanlein, Ex Paganini Stradivarius Cello of 1707.
The cello has long been suspected of being the cello from Paganini’s famous Stradivari quartet of instruments, and Reuning says that recent archival research by Duane Rosengard confirms that this is indeed the case. One of the Countess’ identifiable features is the cutout peg box, which was modified long ago to make restringing the instrument easier in the time of large gut strings. The original label remains inside, with three of the date’s numbers written in Antonio Stradivari’s hand.
Stradivari’s form B cellos were a significant change from his previous cellos. With the form B, he reduced the body size to just under 30 inches, but more significantly, the form B “had a different and somewhat narrower outline than Stradivari’s earlier cellos and a shorter, more manageable body stop. Critical to the tonal success of the new creation was that most forma B cellos had ribs even taller than Stradivari’s previous large instruments,” according to Reuning, which helps give these instruments their renowned deep, sonorous tone. Though the outline remained similar, the form B cellos differed in their rib heights, arching, and on occasion, the wood used for the backs. Most of Stradivari’s form B cellos, like the Countess, were quarter-cut maple with strong flame, but some have willow or poplar backs.
Roman Barnas, head of the violin department at Boston’s North Bennet Street School, took measurements and made tracings of the cello so that the information is preserved.
As a list of the cellists who have owned and performed on the form B cellos testifies, those instruments are perhaps the ne plus ultra form for soloists, including, Jacqueline Du Pré, Amaryllis Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Gregor Piatagorsky, and Sharon Robinson.
Let’s hope that whoever purchases this important instrument keeps it in the public eye, one way or another. It’s simply too marvelous to be moved into a bank vault.
To rate or comment on this article, you need a site membership.
If you have a site membership already, you are seeing this message because you have not logged in.
What do you want to do?
Log in using my site membership.
Join now.
ARE FULLY MODERATED
You must be logged in to rate and comment. Log in or Join now.