Violin after Stradivari, 1859 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (ex-Karrman)
Maker: Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798–1875)
Origin: Paris
Made: 1859
Label: Jean Baptiste Vuillaume à Paris, 3, rue Demours-Ternes, JBV
Serial number: 2316
Current Player: Kristian Winther
Owner: UKARIA
Date Acquired: 2022
Date Loaned to Kristian Winther: 2022
In October 2012, Sotheby’s in London hosted an exhibition of the work of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume – a nineteenth-century French luthier who juxtaposed ground-breaking ingenuity with a talent for imitating the violins of Guarneri and Stradivari. The exhibition, curated by Tim Ingles of Ingles & Hayday Fine Instruments, showcased violins, violas and celli from across Vuillaume’s career, many of which were held in the collection of instrument connoisseur C.M. Sin. It was here that Sin sold on a significant portion of his collection – including the ‘Violin after Stradivari (ex-Karrman)’ crafted by J.B. Vuillaume in 1859, which was to make its way into the custodianship of UKARIA in 2022.
Australian violinist Kristian Winther has always been captivated by the instruments of Vuillaume. In a letter to Ulrike Klein and Alison Beare, he wrote, ‘Vuillaume has always been an absolute favourite maker of mine. I love his creativity and passion, and his perfect and prolific craftsmanship, I love his ingenious inventions like the steel bow and holographic frog, his cunning problem solving, and the fact that he could fool owners of Stradivaris and del Gesùs with his perfect copies of their instruments.’ It was this partiality that led Winther to bring the 1859 violin to UKARIA’s attention, and thus the acquisition process began.
In the catalogue An Exhibition of the Work of J.B. Vuillaume, Tim Ingles writes of the instrument in question, ‘It is difficult to imagine a more magnificent Stradivari copy than this. Its broad edges, unusually wide purfling and full arching speak of the middle of Stradivari's Golden Period. The setting of the f-holes and the wear pattern of the varnish on the back suggest that the “Alard” of 1715, which was probably in Vuillaume's possession at the time, may have been the inspiration for this instrument. With just a little deliberate ageing below the feet of the bridge and in the four corners of the front, it gives us an idea of what most Strads must have looked like in Vuillaume's day. The deliberate wear on the upper back edge of the pegbox which, unusually for Vuillaume, is rather crudely executed, enhances the impression that Vuillaume was copying a specific instrument.’
While Vuillaume has often rested in the shadow of the aforementioned Cremonese masters, his instruments are enjoying a renaissance in popularity – surely encouraged by GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn’s championship of his violins. Hahn acquired her second Vuillaume – also modelled after the ‘Alard’ Stradivari – at the same Sotheby’s exhibition, and Ingles directly compares the two instruments in his catalogue. ‘At first glance, this instrument [crafted in 1865] bears a strong resemblance to the 1859 Stradivari copy. They are certainly made on the same model, with the same full arching and the treble f-hole set a little high in the Stradivarian style, and at a slightly steeper angle. But the detail reveals a difference in approach.’
The violin now in UKARIA’s collection carries a detailed provenance, traceable back to its commission in 1859 by a friend of Vuillaume’s, Dr. William Karrman of Cincinnati. Karrman purchased a viola and a Guarneri-style violin at the same time, but after the three instruments were sold on to William Lewis & Son, the trio was split up. From this point on, they each passed through multiple hands, eventually being reunited in the collection of C.M. Sin. Following the Sotheby’s auction that redistributed Sin’s collection, UKARIA acquired the ‘violin after Stradivari’ in 2022.
Of course it was natural that once in the custodianship of UKARIA, the violin would be loaned to Kristian Winther. After receiving the instrument, Winther wrote of its personal significance. ‘My teacher Josette Esquedin was a great exponent of the Franco-Belgian school of violin playing, rather than the Italian or Russian ones, and so spiritually an instrument of Vuillaume is a natural home to the results of my many years of study with her. It is the sound world which a Vuillaume violin came from, and that it subsequently contributed to. And it was Josette’s Vuillaume which first introduced me to the greatness of his instruments. As a young teenager I would be allowed to play this instrument only on the most special occasions, so I attach a sense of something sacred to his instruments, a sense which carries through to today, and which I feel every time I take the Vuillaume out of its case.’
In a 2024 interview about this violin, Kristian elaborated on the way his relationship with it has evolved over the years. ‘My own relationship with this instrument has been very interesting. I've never had a relationship with an instrument like this one – but it’s very difficult to describe why. It makes a really unique and incredible sound, and it has a wealth of possibilities within it that I'm still trying to unlock after three years. It's the longest journey I feel that I've ever had. After years with other violins, I felt very at home, or that I had figured it out. With this one, I don't know yet; but rather than that being a negative thing, it's actually an extraordinary, positive thing.’
If you have tickets to the sold out Kristian Winther, Timo-Veikko Valve and Aura Go concert on Sunday 6 July 2025, you will have the opportunity to see Kristian play on the Vuillaume violin at UKARIA, in a performance of piano trios by Beethoven, Helvi Leiviskä, Lili Boulanger and Robert Schumann.
