This year’s calendar celebrates the work of Dextra Musica, the Norwegian foundation that has built up a fine collection of historical and contemporary instruments over the past 15 years. All the instruments are in daily use, being loaned out both to top soloists and to up-and-coming young players.
Some of the treasures include Stradivari’s golden-period ‘Rivaz, Baron Gutmann’ violin, the 1744 Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ used by Henning Kraggerud, and the 1783 Guadagnini cello once owned by Rostropovich, which was sold for £1.93 million in 2018 – a record for the maker.
The twelve instruments this year are:
- c.1580 Gasparo da Salò double bass
- c.1665 Francesco & Giovanni Grancino viola
- c.1680 Francesco Rugeri cello
- 1689 ‘Arditi’ Antonio Stradivari violin
- 1695 Giovanni Battista Rogeri cello
- 1707 ‘Rivaz, Baron Gutmann’ Antonio Stradivari violin
- 1735 ‘Kreisler’ Carlo Bergonzi violin
- 1744 Giuseppe Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin
- 1759 Tommaso Balestrieri violin
- 1783 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini cello
- 1823 Nicolas Lupot cello
- 1848–50 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin
