Stradivarius violin loaned to Manchester Camerata

10 August 2012, 12:30 | Updated: 30 September 2014, 14:18

The Manchester Camerata's leader is loaned a 1709 Stradivarius violin for a series of upcoming concerts.

A Stradivarius violin dating from 1709 has been loaned to the leader of the Manchester Camerata for a season of upcoming concerts. Philanthropist Jonathan Moulds owns the violin , and has previously loaned Stradivarius violins to Nicola Benedetti, as well as a variety of students and young professional players.

Giovanni Guzzi, leader of the Manchester Camerata and the man who will be playing the Stradivarius, remarked: "It is like opening your case in the morning and having one of the greatest works of art," and compared it to owning a Da Vinci painting.

1709 was a period of enormous musical prolificacy for Antonio Stradivari. Violins from the same year are currently on loan to the likes of Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili, reported stolen as of 1999 and residing in collections at the Royal Academy of Music and the Smithsonian Institute.