"Ex-Gingold" Stradivari Loaned to Violinist Kevin Lin

The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis has loaned its Stradivari violin to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster

Violinist Kevin Lin, concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra since 2020, will have the opportunity to play on the 1683 "Ex-Gingold" Stradivari until the 2026 edition of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI).

The violin was made by Cremonese luthier Antonio Stradivari in 1683 and was formerly owned by IVCI's Artistic Founder, Josef Gingold. Having served on the juries of all major international competitions throughout the world, Gingold performed as concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra before joining the faculty at Indiana University in Bloomington. He acquired the violin in 1946 and concertized with it until his death a half-century later. The instrument was acquired by the IVCI in 1999.

Since then, the ex-Gingold has been performed by IVCI Gold Medalists Judith Ingolfsson (1998), Barnabás Kelemen (2002), Augustin Hadelich (2006), Clara-Jumi Kang (2010), Richard Lin (2018), and 2014 Silver Medalist Tessa Lark.

“The IVCI is thrilled that for the first time, Indianapolis audiences will have the opportunity to hear Josef Gingold’s Stradivari violin played regularly in the hands of ISO Concertmaster Kevin Lin,” says IVCI Executive Director Glen Kwok. “I cannot think of a more meaningful opportunity than to have our city’s Concertmaster perform on this Strad, which carries the distinctive sound and artistry of Josef Gingold.”

Violinist Kevin Lin previously served as the Co-Leader of the London Philharmonic and has appeared as Guest Concertmaster in the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Houston symphonies, London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

“To be able to perform on a Stradivari violin is to be around a piece of history,” says Lin, “but to use the ex-Gingold, a violin with such a meaningful provenance, is incredibly special.”

“The Gingold Stradivarius provides Kevin with even more ways to support the artistic growth of the ISO,” says Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra CEO James Johnson. “When I think of the lineage of this instrument, especially the glory years of the Cleveland Orchestra when Gingold played Concertmaster for George Szell, I am awestruck at the possibilities for the ISO’s musical future.”