Top 10 Most Expensive Musical Instruments In The World

Music has been known as one the oldest form of art and entertainment worldwide. Musical instruments have been found thousands of years ago proving how music has played a crucial part in our life since the dawn of time.

Musical instruments are commonly sold at affordable prices so that many people can buy and practice learning them. However, there are also musical instruments out there with such a high price tag on them due to various factors like sentimental value or even being antique.

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Here we would like to share with you the top 10 most expensive musical instruments in the world ever been sold.

10. 0M-45 Deluxe Acoustic Guitar ($554,500)

In the mid-1800s, the C.F. Martin company began making guitars in America with them producing more than 50,000 musical instruments as of today. Martin started making their top-notch guitar known as the Orchestra Model(OM) line which was thought to be the state of the art.

However, the 0M-45 Deluxe in particular was considered the favorite of Roy Rogers. Only 15 units of this guitar were ever made and the one owned by Roy Rogers was sold in an auction in 2009 for $554,000. But you can get your hands on a replica for much lesser than $80,000. Not so cheap perhaps!

9. Eric Clapton Blackie Stratocaster ($959,500)

This guitar was made in the 1950s as the Blackie Stratocaster Guitar owned by Eric Clapton became one of the most well-known guitars and desired in the history of music. The journey of this guitar started when Eric Clapton bought several Stratocaster guitars in the 1970s when it was currently being sold for a few thousand dollars per unit.

The guitar that became his favorite will be Blackie as he calls it. The final appearance made by Blackie was in 2004. It was then sold in Christie Auction House New York for $959,500.

8. Lady of Tennant Stradivarius ($2.03 Million)

The Lady of Tennant is a unique antique violin and it was created by Luthier Antonio Stradivari from Italy in 1699. The Lady of Tennant was owned by several individuals throughout history and it was originally owned by Charles Philippe Lafont a violinist in the 19th century.

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After his death, a distributor from London bought his violin. However, in 1900 a Scottish businessman bought the violin as a gift for his wife and later named it the Lady of Tennant. The violin was sold in 2005 for $2.03 million.

7. Steinway Z ($2.1 Million)

The Steinway Z was the piano used by John Lennon to create his iconic classic music, Imagine. This piano was made in the 1970s and bought by the founder of the Beatles.

In the year 2000 at an auction, this piano was then bought by George Michael for $2.1 million. It might sound a bit odd for George to purchase something that had so many defects to it but the sentimental value behind this piano made the value so much more.

6. Hammer Stradivarius ($3.54 Million)

The Hammer Stradivarius violin was made by Luthier Antonio Stradivari in 1707, the same person who made the Lady of Tenant. This antique violin was named in conjunction with the Swedish music collector, Christian Hammer who was the first owner of this violin.

This violin was then sold to an unknown buyer in 2006 for the price of $3.54 million which broke the record of the Lady of Tennant. Some musicians managed to practice this violin as it was lent to them to perform orchestra shows including Kyoko Takezawa.

5. The Lausanne Cathedral Pipe Organ ($4.5 Million)

After having a look at string musical instruments, we now go on to the pipe organ in the Lausanne Cathedral. You might have witnessed how massive these pipe organs are at the typical church with them typically costing $200,000 to $850,000 to build.

The high price of the pipe organ is due to the tedious process of making this complicated instrument. The Lausanne Cathedral pipe organ in particular cost them more than $4.5 million to build.

4. Lady Blunt Stradivarius ($15.9 Million)

The Lady Blunt Stradivarius caught the media attention in 2011 after it was auctioned for the whopping price of $15.9 million. It was considered the highest price ever paid for a musical instrument at the time and the violin has been a part of the Stradivarius for 3 decades.

The violin was sold to help the victim of the tsunami and earthquake in Tohoku in 2011 with the proceed going to the Nippon Foundation. It was named after a granddaughter of a well-known choir, Byron that was called the Lady Anne Blunt.

3. Vieuxtemps ($16 Million)

Standing in third place will be the Vieuxtemps Guarneri violin which was believed to be in its best condition without any defects. It was sold to an unnamed buyer in 2012 for $16 million.

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The violin itself was made by a famous Italian craftsman, Guiseppe Guarneri in 1741 and has since made several appearances in the public and been played by some of the best violinists in the world.

The owner then decided to permanently loan this violin to a top-notch violinist, Anne Akiko Meyers.

2. Duport Straduvarius Cello ($20 Million)

Another work of Luthier Antonio Stradivari the cello was given the name Duport Stradivarius Cello is the second most expensive musical instrument in the world. The name was given after its owner Jean-Louis Duport.

The cello still has a curve that can be seen due to the harsh handling by Napoleon Bonaparte. This is another piece of an instrument with such a high value on it and it was sold to the Nippon Music Foundation for $20 million.

1. MacDonald Stradivarius Viola

The most expensive musical instrument made by Antonio Stradivari will be the MacDonald Stradivarius viola. This violin was made in 1719 and is one of the two viola models that are personally owned.

This viola was named after Baron MacDonald the Third. This highly prized viola was put up for auction for a staggering $45 million in 2014. There is still no buyer for this viola due to how expensive it is. Perhaps you can try and get your hands on this musical instrument.

Source:

• Time

• Wond

• Finances Online

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