拍賣史上價格最高的Lady Blunt，由貝克父子修復
Jan 11. 2023
Now the most highly valued violin on the planet, the iconic instrument was refurbished almost 40 years ago in Carl Becker and Son’s simple Chicago studio.
如今全球最具價值的小提琴——這把標誌性的樂器——大約在40年前於貝克父子（Carl Becker and Son）位於芝加哥的簡易工作室中進行了整修。。
Today, a non-descript condominium building stands at 1416 W. Belmont Avenue in Chicago. This is in the re-gentrified Lakeview neighborhood of the city’s North Side, an area that not long ago was tired and tattered, a stretch of cash exchange depots and tattoo parlors. At this particular address once stood the second floor studio of Carl Becker and Son, violinmakers and repairers of fine instruments, in a building that evidently was demolished sometime in the 1990s.
在芝加哥西貝爾蒙大道1416號矗立著一棟外觀不起眼的共管公寓建築。這裡是城市北區新重劃的高級湖景社區，這一區不久前還破敗不堪，現金當鋪和刺青店充斥著街道。這個地址，曾是貝克父子的工作室——一間位於二樓的小提琴製作與維修店，該建築顯然在1990年代某個時候被拆除了。
What probably few people then and perhaps no person today on that block realize is a very valuable Stradivarius violin was “resident” there for a while as it was being refurbished by the Carls Becker, father (Carl G.) and son (Carl F.).
當時可能沒幾個人知道，而如今更沒有人知道的是，有一把價值連城的史特拉迪瓦里小提琴曾「住」在這裡一段時間，由貝克父子——卡爾·G 和卡爾·F——進行修復。
The Becker operation is obviously a family business. It goes back to the late 1940s and their descendants continue their craft today. The son in the firm’s name was Carl Frederick Becker, who died in 2013 at the age of 93. His children and grandchildren now operate the firm in the city’s Loop (central business district) a few miles south and, notably, within walking distance of Chicago’s Lyric Opera and Symphony Center concert halls.
The Beckers have a long-established world-class reputation. So perhaps it shouldn’t be so remarkable that in the 1970 and 1971 – in the simple second-floor walkup shop on Belmont Avenue where the Beckers crafted and repaired fine stringed instruments – that a particularly well-known and extraordinarily valuable Stradivarius violin was kept there for an important repair.
貝克家族的這項事業顯然是個家族生意，最早可追溯至1940年代後期。他們的後代至今仍在延續這項工藝，如今他們的工作室位於芝加哥Loop商業區，距離芝加哥歌劇院和交響樂中心僅幾步之遙。
貝克家族擁有久負盛名的世界級聲譽。因此，當我們得知在1970年和1971年間，在那間位於貝爾蒙大道二樓、毫不起眼的工作室裡，一把極其知名且價值連城的史特拉迪瓦里小提琴曾在此接受修復，這其實也並不那麼令人驚訝。
This instrument is known as the “Lady Blunt Strad,” so named because it was once owned by Lady Anne Blunt, the daughter of Ada Lovelace (a mathematician and writer who conceived the idea of the computer) and granddaughter of England’s Lord Byron. It was made in 1721 by the master Cremonese luthier, and was last sold at auction in 2011 for $15.9 million USD, the highest price ever claimed by a musical instrument.
這把樂器被稱為「Lady Blunt Strad」，因其曾經的擁有者是Lady Anne Blunt——她是數學家兼作家艾達·洛芙蕾絲（Ada Lovelace，計算機概念的提出者）之女，也是英國詩人拜倫勛爵的外孫女。這把琴是義大利克雷蒙納名師安東尼奧·史特拉迪瓦里於1721年所製，於2011年以1590萬美元的價格售出，創下了樂器拍賣史上的最高價紀錄。
That such an expensive and exquisite instrument, probably the most valuable Stradivarius in the world, spent several months in the Becker studio in Chicago isn’t quite so surprising for anyone who knows the Becker family and their work. The shop under their name had only been open for a couple of years when the Lady Blunt was placed in their hands, but both father (Carl G.) and son (Carl F.) had previously worked with the respected William Lewis & Son, also in Chicago. Their skills were well known and they easily drew customers with repair-worthy violins, violas and cellos.
這把極其昂貴且精緻的小提琴能在貝克家的工作室中停留數月，對於了解這家族和他們技藝的人而言，其實也不算太意外。儘管「貝克父子」這家店在Lady Blunt入手時才開業數年，但父親卡爾·G 和兒子卡爾·F 先前已在芝加哥知名的William Lewis & Son工作過，他們的技藝廣為人知，自然吸引許多擁有待修復樂器的顧客上門。
Father Carl G. was well known as a violin maker. Son Carl F. crafted over 500 instruments with his father, spending the rest of his career in the repair business and making a modest amount of instruments on his own.
父親卡爾·G 是一位知名的小提琴製作家，兒子卡爾·F 與父親合作製作了超過500把樂器，後來他專注於維修工作，僅獨自製作少量樂器。
The Lady Blunt Strad was owned by Tarisio Auctions when Becker repaired it. Once it was restored, it sold for $201,000 at auction. The buyer (Robert Lowe) owned it for 30 years, after which it was acquired by the Nippon Music Foundation for $10 million. The Foundation put it up for charitable sale to benefit the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami (in Japan), where it sold for $15.9 million. It is rarely played.
Lady Blunt 在交由貝克修復時由Tarisio拍賣公司持有。經修復後，它以20.1萬美元拍出，買主是Robert Lowe，他持有這把琴達30年之久，之後由日本的Nippon音樂基金會以1000萬美元購得。該基金會隨後將其再次公開拍賣，並將所得捐助給2011年日本東北大地震與海嘯的災民，最終這把琴以1590萬美元售出。如今，它幾乎不再被演奏。
The Becker shop repaired other Stradivariuses, including the Muntz Strad. Carl F. Becker was also a founding member of both the International Society of Violin and Bowmakers the American Federation of Violin and Bowmakers – pretty heady stuff for a firm that started out on Belmont Avenue in Chicago.
貝克家族的工作室還修復過其他史特拉迪瓦里小提琴，例如Muntz Strad。卡爾·F·貝克也是國際小提琴與琴弓製作人協會（International Society of Violin and Bowmakers）與美國小提琴與琴弓製作人聯盟（American Federation of Violin and Bowmakers）的創始成員之一——這樣的成就對一個起家於貝爾蒙大道的小小工作室來說，實在令人欽佩。
原文出自：Benning Violins
《Lady Blunt》維修工作照（芝加哥提琴C.V.C提供）
《Lady Blunt》在貝克工作筆記中的厚薄紀錄（數字部分已馬賽克處理）
1970年2月14日的日曆頁，貝克在替Lady Blunt維修調色的刷痕。畫面中Lady Blunt Strad的文字是貝克的筆跡
