Library of Congress Gains Ownership of 1690 Stradivari Viola

April 30, 2025, 7:57 AM · After housing the instrument on loan since 1977, the Library of Congress announced Wednesday that it has officially acquired the historic 1690 "Tuscan-Medici" viola by Antonio Stradivari as a gift to the nation from Seattle-based collector David and Amy Fulton and The Tuscan Corporation.

The 1690 "Tuscan-Medici" Stradivari viola. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress.

The viola joins an ensemble of rare Stradivari instruments housed and preserved at the Library, bringing the total to six. The collection was started in 1935, when Gertrude Clarke Whittall donated five of those instruments to the Library, with the mandate to make them accessible through performance and research, and to ensure that they are living objects that facilitate creating new works and interpretations of classics. Whittall's contributions include the 1699 "Castelbarco" Stradivari violin; the 1700 "Ward" Stradivari violin; the 1704 "Betts" Stradivari violin; the 1699 "Castelbarco" Stradivari cello; and the 1727 "Cassavetti" Stradivari viola.

Since December 1977 "Tuscan-Medici" viola had been on loan to the Library by The Tuscan Corporation (of the Cameron Baird Family) in a collaborative custodial arrangement. The acquisition of the viola, valued at $30 million, was made possible through a gift of $20 million from the Fultons and an in-kind contribution of $10 million by the Baird family.

"This is an extraordinary gift to the Library and to the nation," said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. "We will continue to embrace the spirit of sharing this remarkable
instrument with America and the world, creating opportunities for musicians to perform at the Library and beyond so audiences can experience this exquisite viola. I am personally grateful to the Fultons and the Bairds for their tremendous generosity in making this instrument available to the public as part of the Library’s collections."

The "Tuscan-Medici" viola was commissioned from Stradivari in 1690 by Ferdinando de’ Medici, the grand prince of Tuscany and a patron of music in Florence. By the late 1700s, the viola left Italy and arrived in England. It remained there with various owners – including the collectors Alexander Glennie, F. de Rougemont, and Avery-Tyrell – until 1924, when it was sold to the American amateur musician and Macy’s department store heir Herbert N. Straus.

In 1957, Cameron Baird, violist, philanthropist and chairman of the Music Department at the State University of New York, Buffalo, purchased the instrument from the Straus estate. At the time, the violin workshop W.E. Hill & Sons called it “one of the finest of the 10 existing examples of the maker, its preservation being as remarkable as the beauty of its appearance." Upon Baird’s death in 1960, the instrument passed to his wife, Jane Baird, who placed it on loan with the Library of Congress in 1977.

During its time at the Library of Congress, the 1690 "Tuscan-Medici" viola already has inspired some history-making. A decade ago the Library, with support from the family of Cameron and Jane Baird, and John J. Medvickis, co-commissioned Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon to write a viola concerto specifically to be played on the instrument. Roberto Díaz, violist and president of the Curtis Institute of Music, premiered the piece at the Library in 2015. The piece went on to win the 2018 Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Classical Compendium. The manuscript is held by the Library’s Music Division, and here is a video Diaz' original performance of the work:

With the acquisition, the viola is ensured a permanent place at the Library. "The viola will forever be the property of the nation and will be protected, heard, and available for study. It’s an ideal outcome,” said Fulton, whose gift of $20 million with his wife ensured the Library's acquisition of the instrument. Fulton recently finished selling off all but one instrument from his own legendary private collection, with the $23 million sale of the "Baron Knoop" violin in March. At its peak, Fulton owned 28 fine violins, cellos and violas as well as dozens of bows. It was a collection he'd built over the course of 40 years that included eight Stradivaris, eight instruments by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, and an assortment of other fine instruments by great makers: Bergonzi, Guadagnini, Amati, Montagnana, Pietro Guarneri and more.

Ensuring the Library of Congress's ownership of the 1690 "Tuscan-Medici" Strad viola "is an altogether appropriate way to express our gratitude for the way we have lived, prospered, thrived, and been nurtured by this great nation, our beloved home," Fulton said. "In fact, my wife Amy’s very existence is thanks to the safe haven the United States provided for her mother after her family fled the Holocaust in Austria. Moreover, it seems a very good way to memorialize the passion for great stringed instruments that has illuminated most of my life. A capstone for the collection, if you will."

The "Fulton, ex Baird, Tuscan-Medici" Stradivari viola will be featured in performance during the 2025-2026 season of Concerts from the Library of Congress, as part of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the concert series. Additional details will be announced in Summer 2025.

You might also like:

* * *

Enjoying Violinist.com? Click here to sign up for our free, bi-weekly email newsletter. And if you've already signed up, please invite your friends! Thank you.

Replies

Stephen Symchych

May 1, 2025 at 12:03 AM · Now I just have to see about inter-library loans.

jean dubuisson

May 2, 2025 at 01:48 PM · :-)

Will Wilkin

May 2, 2025 at 08:19 PM · Very interesting. The LOC has 4 Stradivarius violins, a viola and a cello (plus instruments by other great makers). I wonder how much difference there is between the violins? Was every strad made to the same construction method and design? And how much difference compared to other makers?

This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

Library of Congress Gains Ownership of 1690 Stradivari Viola

Replies

Subscribe

Laurie's Books