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Posted: Thursday, 09 July 2009 8:23AM
Burglars steal valuable violin during North Side break-in
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CHICAGO (STNG) -- A Chicago musician began the day on a particularly sour note Tuesday, discovering her prized 18th century violin had been taken from her North Side home as she slept.
Professional violinist Lori Ashikawa said she last saw the Italian-made Gagliano violin -- which one expert says is worth about $100,000 -- after practicing on it late Monday. When she went to retrieve it early Tuesday from the room adjoining her bedroom, it was gone, along with the case, two bows and some accessories, she said.
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Police saw no signs of forced entry, Ashikawa said, adding she suspects an intruder used a key that she had hidden in a planter outside her home, at which contractors are working.
The instrument -- the work of Gennaro Gagliano and labeled "Januarius Gagliano, Naples, 1763" -- could be worth about $100,000, said Geoffrey Fushi, owner of Chicago-based Bein & Fushi Rare Violins Inc., one of the largest high-end violin dealers. One bow was an Emile Ouchard from 1930-35; the other, an H.R. Pfretzschner.
Ashikawa bought the violin in Los Angeles in the 1980s, her first instrument out of college. The former music major worked a full-time office job for five years to make the purchase.
She said she has no idea who may have taken the instrument, the only thing missing fro.jpg) m the home she shares with her husband in the 5200 block of North Wayne Street.
"It could be someone spying from the alley," said Ashikawa, whose work includes playing with the Goodman and Steppenwolf theaters, Baroque Band, Led Zeppelin and Elvis Costello.
She put the word out to violin shops and music stores to be on the lookout for the insured instrument.
"The more people know about it, the more people can watch out for it," said Fred Thompson, co-director of the Chicago School of Violin Making in Skokie.
Without the certificate of authenticity, it won't get anywhere near its worth, said Fushi. "They generally end up in pawn shops is what usually happens."
One of the bows could easily fetch up to $15,000, he said.
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Copyright 2009 STNG Wire, The Chicago Sun-Times. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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