The Nippon Music Foundation has facilitated the loan of the cello, which was previously played by Gregor Piatigorsky and János Starker
The 1606 ‘Lord Aylesford’ Stradivari cello | nmf.or.jp
Japan’s Nippon Music Foundation has announced the loan of the 1696 ‘Lord Aylesford’ Stradivari cello to Zlatomir Fung.
The decision follows the foundation’s 30th Instrument Loan Committee Meeting in July 2024, where under its ’Category A’ criteria, the instrument is to be loaned for a period between two to seven years to a musician aged 35 and under.
The ‘Lord Aylesford’ cello was brought to London from Italy around 1780 by violinist Felice de Giardini. It came into the possession of Lord Aylesford, a well-known amateur player. Other prominent owners of the cello include New York dealer Emil Herrmann and Gregor Piatigorsky. The Nippon Music Foundation acquired the cello in 2003 from the Werro family.
János Starker played on the cello in numerous concerts and 35 recordings from 1950 to 1965. The cello has also previously been loaned to Danjulo Ishizaka and Pablo Ferrández.
The cello contains a two-piece maple back, marked by a narrow curl of medium strength. The table, in five pieces of spruce, is of mostly medium to medium-broad grain. The varnish is of an orange-brown colour, of a deeper shade on the table.
The length of the body was slightly reduced by luthier Jean Werro from its original dimensions in order to make it easier to play.
Fung previously played a 1717 cello by David Tecchler of Rome, details of which he shared in the January 2024 issue of The Strad.