Illustrated arts talk – THE GENIUS OF STRADIVARI

250 years after Antonio Stradivari’s death, his violins and cellos remain the world’s most highly prized instruments. Loved by great musicians and capable of fetching fabulous sums when sold, their tone and beauty are legendary. Every subsequent violinmaker has tried to match them. Not one has succeeded. How can that be? This lecture explores that central mystery by following some of Stradivari’s instruments from his workshop to the present day. It is a story that travels from the salons of Vienna to auditoriums around the world.

After investment banking, management consulting and five years as managing director of the publishing company founded by his grandfather, Toby remains on the board of Faber and Faber, is non-executive Chairman of its sister company, Faber Music, and a director of Liverpool University Press.