The Harrison' violin - Image 1

Front view of Stradivari violin, the Harrison, made in Cremona, Italy, in 1693. Called the greatest concert violin built before 1700, this is one of but a handful of Stradivari violins to survive with its original neck. It was modernized probably early in the 19th century, when Italian instruments became the preferred standard, as performing venues got larger. Nicknamed The Harrison, after Richard Harrison, an English solicitor and amateur musician who owned the instrument in the 19th-century. Shown in color as the frontispiece of the standard biography, Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work (1644-1737), published in 1902 by William E. Hill & Sons of London, it was one of 44 instruments chosen to be shown at the international exhibition held in Cremona in 1987 toMark the 250th anniversary of Stradivari's death. The instrument can be heard on modern recordings by Kyung-Wha Chung, the great Korean violinist.