Listen to the gorgeous sound of this Stradivarius violin worth £2m

28 February 2017, 16:33 | Updated: 1 March 2017, 10:42

By Lizzie Davis

This Stradivari violin dates from 1684 and is due to be auctioned next month by Ingles & Hayday. It’s expected to fetch £1.3m-£2m so we were very careful with it when it was brought into the Classic FM studio…

Antonio Stradivari made this violin when he was in his 40s, relatively early in his career, and is in wonderful condition (as you’ll hear in the clip below).

It’s made from maple and is coated in Stradivari’s trademark golden varnish – the varnish that some people believe gives the instruments their famous sound.

Here's the violin in full flow

Violinist Samuel Staples, who's currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, played some Bach on the Stradivarius violin.

The auction-house Ingles & Hayday said: “This is a fine example of Antonio Stradivari’s violins from the 1680s. The instrument represents a key stage in the development of the luthier’s distinctive style.”

The violin has been played by musicians including Frank Peter Zimmermann, Alexander Gilman and Suyeon Kim. But it gets its name from two Scottish musicians who owned the instrument in first the 19th century (William Croall) and the early 20th century (Mr R.F.McEwen).

The instrument will be auctioned in London on 28 March and has a guide price of 1.3m-£2m. Find out more here.