Violinist sues repairman for snapping $80k bow

6 January 2015, 10:35 | Updated: 6 January 2015, 12:23

Greek violinist and Gramophone Award-winner Leonidas Kavakos has sued a violin shop in California for allegedly snapping his bow, worth $80,000.

A report from Courthouse News states that the incident happened in January 2013, when Kavakos brought his Henry violin bow to the shop to assess a curve in it.

Kavakos stated that the shop's owner Nazaret Mkhsi-Gevorkian "began applying pressure to the Henry Bow, at which time the Henry Bow snapped into two pieces."

He claimed that Gevorkian should have heated up the bow before attempting to apply pressure to it. 

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The bow itself dates from 1850 and is "ornately adorned with tortoise shell and silver."

The violinist is seeking $80,000 for the broken bow, which he claims to have paid $65,000 for in 2012, as well as damages for negligence and breach of contract. The bow is, according to Kavakos, broken beyond repair.

Kavakos plays on the Abergavenny Stradivarius violin, which dates from 1724.