Musician trying to track down stolen violin

Heirloom may be worth $100,000, expert believes

Tony Sanville of Houston is on the hunt for his 1928 Giuseppe Fiorini violin that may be worth more than $100,000 after it was taken from his car.

A Houston musician is on the hunt for a stolen violin that one expert said may be worth more than $100,000.

Tony Sanville, 33, suspects his 1928 Giuseppe Fiorini violin was stolen Wednesday night from the back seat of his car.

The thief also nabbed a backpack holding a few iPads, Sanville said.

Now, Sanville is trying to track down the instrument he inherited from his mother, an amateur violinist herself.

“These are things you keep for a lifetime,” Sanville said.

Thefts of instruments, while not common, do tend to come with the trade, said Peter Shaw, who owns Amati Violin Shop in Rice Village.

In his 32 years of business, Shaw has accumulated some harrowing tales of detaining thieves until police arrived after they tried to sell him a stolen violin.

In musicians’ daily lives, it takes work to keep their instruments safe, Shaw said.

“If you go into Starbucks and get a cup of coffee, you bring your violin with you,” he said. “If you go to a restaurant, you bring your violin with you. If you’re a cellist, it’s a real pain in the butt, because you have to bring your cello with you.”

Famous violins have been recovered for millions of dollars. A stolen Stradivarius violin made headlines in 2015 when it was returned to its owners after 35 years of searching. Violins similar to that one had been valued near $16 million, an understandable sum given that Stradivarius is widely considered one of the finest makers of string instruments.

Those hefty price tags don’t include bows. The finest can cost hundreds of thousands, Shaw said.

While Sanville’s violin is no Stradivarius, its maker, Fiorini, is known in the strings community, Shaw said. So Houston-area violin shops are on high alert in case the violin makes it through their doors.

“These are irreplaceable,” said Matt Lisle, general manager of Lisle Violin Shop, which has locations in Houston, Pasadena and Katy.

Sanville estimated his violin was worth between $25,000 and $40,000.

Runs in the family

Shaw said he has seen Fiorini violins sell for more than $100,000, depending on their condition and where and when they was made. Everyone wants one crafted in Italy, he said.

For Sanville, his Fiorini violin is worth more than just its price tag.

Sanville is a thirdgeneration violinist. His grandparents played in orchestras across the United States. Sanville started playing the violin when he was 10. He has been playing his Fiorini since he started his undergraduate violin performance degree at the University of Houston.

Sanville founded a company that provides string musicians for events ranging from open houses to weddings. He left the violin and his backpack in his car after performing a Wednesday night gig.

He said he meant to retrieve it in minutes, but he fell asleep and forgot to get the valuables out of his vehicle.

“You try to be vigilant. You try to be conscientious all the time,” Sanville said. “And it’s hard to do.”

Won’t be the same

Until he gets his instrument back, Sanville will be using one loaned from an old college professor. But it likely won’t be the same.

Musicians “do make a very personal connection to their instrument,” Lisle said. “Most players, once they pick an instrument, they’re not going to change.”