PIt could have been an irreparable disaster, but it was resolved with a sigh of relief and a liberating applause. During a concert at the Sibelius Hall in Lahti, Finland, the soloist Elina Vähälä he was performing Max Bruch’s violin concerto when a too vigorous movement by the conductor, the British Matthew Hallshit the instrument. The impact was enough to make the musician lose her grip: the precious Guadagninia piece of violin making history worth approximately a million dollarsit literally flew out of his hands.
The soloist’s “ninja” rescue
According to testimonies and the video of the event, lo the instrument made a few rotations in the air before falling towards the ground. At that moment, the Finnish artist has had the readiness to accomplish what she herself later defined as a «ninja» movement: he stretched out a foot to break the fallpreventing the wood from hitting the stage floor directly with all its force. The orchestra immediately stopped the performance to the amazement of the audience, while the British maestro watched the scene visibly shaken.
The million dollar violin is miraculously saved
After a few minutes of extreme tension, the technical check gave an unexpected result. The violin appeared completely intact: no cracks on the soundboard, nor deep scratches. The only visible damage was the reopening of a joint between the top and the bands, a point that is usually glued with a weaker glue to allow the wood to “give” in the event of impacts or strong climatic changes, thus preserving the most expensive and delicate parts.
The recovery of performance after the shock
“We were very lucky,” declared the violinist once the evening was over. Despite the initial shock, the musician has started playing again after a short break, completing the concert with the same instrument. The conductor then publicly praised his colleague’s professionalism, thanking jokingly the luthier Guadagnini for the resistance of his creation. It was an evening that none of those present will easily forget, ending with the awareness that, sometimes, even in the world of classical music, all it takes is a instinctive reflex to save a centuries-old masterpiece.
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