ANTONIO STRADIVARI

Capel-Cure
W.E. Hill & Sons
Hart & Son
Robert A. Bower
J & A Beare
Jessie Snow
Frederick Holding
Barbara Penny


In his letter to Robert A. Bowers, dated February 5, 1918, Alfred Ebsworth Hill writes that the violin, ...was originally purchased by my Father, a good many years ago, from a well-known English family of the name Capel-Cure. In 1918 Hart & Son had sold the violin to the well-known connoisseur, Robert A. Bower. That same year, John and Arthur Beare purchased the violin and then sold it to a Miss Jessie Snow. A British violinist and student of W. H. Reed, Miss Snow performed on the violin for ten years before selling it to another British violinist, Frederick Holding, in 1927. A pupil of Carl Flesch, Holding was best known as the 2nd, then later 1st violinist of the old Philharmonic String Quartet. The violin remained with Holding until its sale in 1965 to Miss Barbara Penny.

Barbara Penny (1929 - 2007) began her life as a musician while attending Malvern Girl's College. With a scholarship to the Royal College of Music she nurtured a passion for modern 20th Century repertoire. As both a talented pianist and violinist, Miss Penny gravitated towards the violin, which would lead to a career as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Britain and Europe. Miss Penny studied and performed alongside a number of talented musicians such as Tom Jenkins, Frederick Grinke, Sascha Lasserson and the eminent, Jack Rothstein.
Her performance résumé included appearances on the BBC, as well as leading the Bolshoi Ballet in London and the Festival Ballet Orchestras, and was for many years a member of the acclaimed London Mozart Players. Most impressively she was the first woman accepted into the strings section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.