Sep 28, 2018 | Sabine Wiedemann News Bryan Cheng receives Bonjour Stradivari Cello

​Every three years, talented Canadian professional classical musicians compete for a chance to borrow one of the 20 legendary instruments from the Canada Council's Musical Instrument Bank.

The Bonjour Stradivari cello, made by Antonio Stradivari ca. 1696, is named after an amateur nineteenth century Parisian cellist, Abel Bonjour, who owned it until his death sometime after 1885. The cello subsequently passed via Stuttgart, Cologne and Switzerland to Martin Lovett, cellist of the celebrated Amadeus Quartet, who owned it for a period of time.The present owner, an anonymous donor, acquired it in 1999 and made it available for the Musical Instrument Bank.

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