Philharmonia musician distraught after rare 285-year-old violin stolen from London pub

24 February 2025, 12:30

The priceless violin, made in 1740s Florence, has been passed down to musicians over two centuries. Last week, it was stolen in plain sight from a north London pub.

A violinist has appealed for help after their rare 285-year-old Italian instrument was stolen from a pub in Canonbury, north London, while they were having dinner.

David López Ibáñez had the Lorenzo Carcassi violin on long-term loan, for playing second violin in the Philharmonia Orchestra, whose musicians regularly perform at the Royal Festival Hall and other leading UK concert venues.

Worth a six-figure sum, the violin was produced in 1740 in Florence and passed down to musicians over 200 years. A German businessman purchased it, saw a video of López playing online, and decided to loan them the instrument around eight years ago.

López told press: “It’s lived 300 years prior to my hands touching it. It’s got its own history. Each hour, each performance, each challenge, you get to know each other more and you express yourself through it.”

After the incident, which took place on Tuesday 18 February, López said losing the violin was like grieving for an old friend.

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While dining at the pub with a friend, López placed the violin, which was stored in a black Riboni Unoeotto case, on the floor next to them. López’s hat was on top of the case, and fell on the floor. Another pubgoer picked up the hat, thinking it belonged to the suspected thief, and went after him. They realised afterwards that the man must have hidden the violin inside his coat on his way out of the pub.

The case also contain three violin bows – a Morizot - Frères, a Dodd bow with a mother of pearl tip, and a carbon fibre bow – and the violin itself has a very distinctive hole in the shape of a heart in the scroll.

The 30-year-old violinist, who came to the UK at the age of 19 to study at the Royal College of Music, said their ‘heart exploded’ when they noticed the instrument had vanished.

“Instantly I felt like a part of me was gone,” López told Metro. “As a musician you have such a special bond with your instrument. It is a companion, it comes with you on your back all around the world. It was a moment when my whole life is flipped.”

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López is now begging Londoners to help reunite them with the instrument they have played for eight years.

He said: “I moved to the UK to pursue a childhood dream of becoming a violinist and now my voice has been taken away from me.

“The violin sounds so in tune with me. I am so in tune with it. I feel like my life has been torn apart. I cannot fall asleep.”

The day after their violin was taken, David cancelled a concert in despair. They returned to play with the Philharmonia on Thursday night, performing on a spare violin.

Metropolitan Police are investigating the incident, and are likely to look through the pub’s CCTV footage. While the instrument will be worth over six figures, violins like this are so rare that they are very identifiable, and therefore difficult for thieves to sell.

“It is priceless to me and worthless to them,” David told press.