During a concert, a rare and valuable violin was accidentally knocked from a violinist’s hands by the conductor, causing quite a stir among the audience and musicians alike.
A video of the incident shows Maestro Matthew Halls passionately leading his orchestra when he inadvertently struck the £1 million violin with his baton and swinging arms, sending it flying out of the musician’s grasp.
The violinist, Elina Vahala, let out a scream and clutched her face in shock as the violin spun multiple times in the air before landing on the floor.
Visibly horrified, Ms. Vahala gazed at the instrument, crafted by the esteemed GB Guadagnini, as it lay upside down on the stage.
Despite the mishap, the orchestra continued playing until the conductor halted the performance. In her elegant black dress, Ms. Vahala carefully retrieved the violin from the floor, observed anxiously by her fellow musicians.
After a brief and tense pause, Ms. Vahala resumed her performance of Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, demonstrating remarkable composure.
The violin endured little damage from the incident in Lahti’s Sibelius Hall, helped by Ms Vahala breaking its fall with her foot.
The 50-year-old described playing the last chord of the piece’s section and ‘released [her] grip ever so slightly’, causing the violin to flip three times in the air.
Footage shows Maestro Matthew Halls enthusiastically directing his orchestra before whacking the violin, worth £1million, out of the player’s grip with his swinging arms
The female violinist Elina Vahala lets out a scream and grabs her face as it flips three times in the air before crashing on to the floor
The orchestra continues playing until the conductor stops them, as Ms Vahala leans down in her long black dress and gently picks the violin up while concerned musicians watched
Following a tense two-minute interval, Ms Vahala continued playing Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 after picking it back up
This left the violin with no cracks or scratches, while revealing Ms Vahala’s quick reflexes, as the violinist said: ‘My Guadagnini is perfectly fine!’
She continued: ‘The glue between the top and the ribs gave in, as it’s supposed to do, in order to protect the top and the back from cracking during humidity changes.
‘Or as we discovered, from an impact. The guardian angel of old Italian instruments was present.’
The show was the first time the violinist and Mr Halls played together.
Ms Vahala, who was born in the US and raised in Finland, and made her orchestral debut aged 12. Max Bruch’s violin concerto is one of the most popular violin concertos for a solo violin piece.
She said she hopes to work with Mr Halls again, adding: ‘We definitely share an intense memory together!’
She continued: ‘I am happy that we managed to finish the concerto despite the scary interruption. The audience was breathing every second with us with full attention! What an evening.’
Mr Halls described having the ‘great joy’ of ‘conducting the Bruch violin concerto many times over the years’, adding this one will be one he will ‘certainly never forget’.
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Ms Vahala, who was born in the US and raised in Finland, and made her orchestral debut aged 12. Max Bruch’s violin concerto is one of the most popular concertos for a solo violin piece
Mr Halls has been the Chief Conductor of Finland’s Tampere Philharmonic since August 2023
In commemoration for Ms Vahala, he said: ‘Words cannot adequately express my admiration for this remarkable artist, who gave a blistering account before and after the “YouTube” incident.
‘Thank you Elina Vahala for being a wonderful friend and colleague, and thank you Signor Guadagnini for your superior craftsmanship.
‘All’s well that ends well.’
Mr Halls has been the Chief Conductor of Finland’s Tampere Philharmonic since August 2023.
The Italian Guadagnini family was known for their violins, guitars and mandolins. Guadagnini’s violins sell for millions of pounds.
A violin was sold for £1.5million in June 2018 at the Tarisio Fine Instruments and Bows auction house in New York.
