The Strad Calendar 2026: 1727 ‘Eugenio di Barbaro’ Stradivari violin

One of the most active organisations supporting the arts in Canada, Canimex has been loaning fine instruments to players for more than two decades. The Strad Calendar 2026 showcases twelve of these treasures, including five by Antonio Stradivari, two by Guarneri ‘del Gesù’, two by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini and – a first for the Calendar – a modern octobass.

1727 ‘Eugenio di Barbaro’ Stradivari violin

With an original label dated 1727, the ‘Eugenio di Barbaro’ Stradivari violin comes from the master luthier’s late period, when the handiwork of his sons Omobono and Francesco was much in evidence. The one-piece maple back has a remarkable flame descending from left to right, while the carving of the scroll is very deep, with a pegbox that narrows very quickly towards the top.

The original varnish is of an orange–brown colour, although little now remains. One interesting point that seems to unify the violin with the ‘Leopold Auer’ and ‘G. Schönau’ (both from different periods) is that in each case, the bass-side f-hole is slightly lower than that of the treble side.

The violin has been through many hands during its lifetime. At the turn of the 20th century it was being played by Alexander Petschnikoff, then one of the best-known soloists in the world, who helped popularise the Tchaikovsky Concerto in Europe and the US. Rather confusingly, Petschnikoff played on another Stradivari violin, also made in 1727, which is now known as the ‘Laub, Petschnikoff’.

The ‘Eugenio di Barbaro’ then came into the possession of the well-known Finnish collector Harry Wahl; later the renowned surgeon Robert Goepel owned it for just a year until he died. Chocolate maker Bernhard Sprengel, a keen art collector, had it for some years; then Klaus Dohrn, a banker and son of the pianist–conductor Georg Dohrn, owned and played the instrument. It is now in the hands of Élaine Marcil, first violinist of the Claudel-Canimex Quartet.

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Photos: Canimex