Barjansky Stradivarius

The Barjansky is named after Russian cellist Alexandre Barjansky, who played the instrument during the first half of the 20th century. Barjansky was the dedicatee of Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo which he performed on this instrument. Barjansky premiered the Delius Concerto on the instrument in Vienna in January 1923.[1]

The date of its making is unclear. In an interview with The Strad Julian Lloyd Webber said:

The catalogue date is 1684 and the label inside the cello says 1684. But before the sale I did some research on the instrument and found it listed rather erratically in Henley's book on Stradivari's instruments. It is listed there as the "Barjansky" Strad, 1736, the last cello he ever made. Dealers who know the cello think that it is certainly not so early as 1684 which is a good thing. According to the Henley book he didn't really establish his cello model until round about 1707 at which time the cello was only first becoming established as a solo instrument."[2]

The Sotheby's 1983 catalogue describes the Barjansky Stradivarius as being 29 7/8 inches (75.9 cm) along the back, with a golden brown varnish.[2]

Barjansky was the previous owner when the Cremonese cello came up for auction at Sotheby's in 1983. It sold for a record price to British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber whose previous instrument was a Guadagnini of the 1700s. The purchase price was undisclosed.[2]

A comparable "Strad" (the "de Pawle") sold around that time for $650,000 in New York.[2] Itzhak Perlman bought the 1714 Soil Stradivari from Yehudi Menuhin for £600,000 in 1986 (equivalent to £1,771,000 in 2019).[3]

Since then the Barjansky Stradivarius has been played by Lloyd Webber, who has made more than 30 award-winning recordings on the instrument, including a renowned version of Elgar Cello Concerto, conducted by Yehudi Menuhin.

Chapter Eight of Margaret Campbell's biography of Lloyd Webber, Married to Music, is called "The Barjansky" Strad.

The Barjansky Stradivarius has reportedly been offered for sale by the violin expert Florian Leonhard.

• Frederick Delius, Cello Concerto, Frankfurt, Germany, January 1923
• Vaughan Williams, Fantasia on Sussex Folk Tunes for Cello and Orchestra, Three Choirs Festival, Gloucester, August 1983
• Edward Elgar, Romance for Cello and Piano, Wigmore Hall, London, April 1985
• Arthur Sullivan, Cello Concerto, London Symphony Orchestra/Mackerras, Barbican Centre, London, April 1986
• Malcolm Arnold, Fantasy for Cello, Wigmore Hall, London, December 1987
• Malcolm Arnold, Cello Concerto, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Handley, Royal Festival Hall, London, March 1989
• Richard Rodney Bennett, Dream Sequence for Cello and Piano, John Lenehan (piano), Wigmore Hall, London, December 1994
• Vladimir Godar, Barcarolle for Cello, Strings, Harp and Harpsichord, Hellenic Centre, London, April 1994
• Gavin Bryars, Cello Concerto (Farewell to Philosophy), English Chamber Orchestra/James Judd, Barbican Centre, London, November 1995
• William Lloyd Webber, Nocturne for Cello and Piano, John Lill (piano), Purcell Room, London, February 1995
• Christopher Headington, Serenade for Cello and Strings, English Chamber Orchestra, Banqueting House, London, January 1995
• Michael Nyman, Concerto for Cello and Saxophone, Philharmonia/James Judd, Royal Festival Hall, London, March 1997
• William Walton, Theme for a Prince for Solo Cello, Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham, October 1998
• Karl Jenkins, Benedictus for Cello, Choir and Orchestra from 'The Armed Man', National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the National
• Musicians Symphony Orchestra, Royal Albert Hall, London, April 2000
• Philip Glass, Cello Concerto, China Philharmonic Orchestra/Long Yu, Beijing Festival, China, September 2001
• James MacMillan, Cello Sonata No.2, John Lenehan (piano), Queens Hall, Edinburgh, April 2001
• Howard Goodall, And the Bridge is Love for Cello and Strings Festival Orchestra/Thomas Hull, Chipping Campden Festival, May 2008
• Patrick Hawes, Gloriette for Cello and Piano, Leeds Castle, Kent, August 2008
• Andrew Lloyd Webber, Phantasia (Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra), Izmir Festival, Turkey, July 2008
• Eric Whitacre, The River Cam for cello and strings, Philharmonia Orchestra/Whitacre, Royal Festival Hall, London, April 2011

All first performances were by Julian Lloyd Webber, except the January 1923 concerto by Alexandre Barjansky.

• Gramophone article referencing the Barjansky.
• The Strad article on the Barjansky.
• Review highlighting the cello’s qualities.
• Performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto on the Barjansky Stradivarius
• Biography of Julian Lloyd Webber