“I'm completely in love with it already," ACO Principal Violin Helena Rathbone says as she introduces the 1732 'ex-Dollfus' Stradivarius violin she is currently playing.
She describes the violin, which is on generous loan from an anonymous benefactor, as “just exquisite”.
“It's got an extremely even tone all the way up the violin, right from the bottom up to the top,” Helena tells us in the video above. “There's not a weak point anywhere. It's very sweet, and rich, and has a sort of burnished sound. And the response on the violin is extremely quick.”
So far Helena has played the instrument in our Bach and The Crowd & I National Tours, and you can hear her playing the instrument in her intimate ACO Up Close recital, on 28 August (Sydney, The Neilson at Pier 2/3) and 20 September (Melbourne, Hanson Dyer Hall).
“I'm looking forward to our journey together,” she says.
Helena will play the 'ex-Dollfus' Stradivarius in her upcoming ACO Up Close Recitals in Sydney (Sunday 28 August, Pier 23) and Melbourne (Tuesday 20 September, Hanson Dyer Hall). Click here to purchase tickets.
