$6 Million Stradivarius Violin Stolen From Milwaukee Symphony Concertmaster

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 31, 2014 3:20PM

Frank Almond (left) is shown playing the "Lipinski" Stradivarius with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. (Photo courtesy Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)

Milwaukee Police, the FBI and Interpol are investigating the theft of a rare Stradivarius violin from a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Monday night. Frank Almond, concertmaster for the orchestra, an instructor at Northwestern University and founder of the popular “Frankly Music” chamber series, was robbed of the violin around 10:30 p.m. Monday as he was walking to his car after a performance when he was shot with a stun gun and dropped it.

Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said two suspects, a man and a woman, are being sought. They drove away from the scene in a late 80s - early 90s model Dodge or Chrysler minivan. They’ll have very few options to fence the instrument: Stradivariuses are so well-recognized they can’t be sold on the open market. The Stradivarius in Almond’s possession was on loan to him from its owner and is believed to be worth $6 million, although Flynn would not confirm that number to media. Police said in a statement:

"It is important to note that this violin is valuable to a very small number of people in the world and is not something easily sold for what it is worth."

Almond helped produce a video detailing the history of the "Lipinski" Stradivarius below.

A Violin's Life from Ryan Thomas Reeve on Vimeo.

Because of the value of the violin, the FBI's and Interpol were called in to assist in the investigation. There is precedent to recovering stolen Stradivariuses. One violin, valued at $1 million, stolen from a London train station in 2010 was recovered in a home in central England last year along with two bows worth $105,000.