They threw a party last night in Pasadena for a Stradivarius violin. Jerry Kohl fell in love with the idea of owning a Strad after reading an L.A. Times story earlier this year. He tapped some master violinists to audition a selection of eight Strads on stage at Disney Hall and ended up buying an instrument that had been played for nearly 40 years by Nathan Milstein, called by Laurie Niles of Violinist.com "one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century." Niles reports on last night's coming-out party, during which Pasadena Pops Orchestra concertmaster Barry Socher played several pieces on the violin.

During the Meditation, Kohl stood at the corner of the room, looking pensive and satisfied, his attentive eyes watching his new baby in Socher's hand. As Socher finished, the woman next to me whispered, "Soooo beautiful..."

It was during the Scherzo Tarantelle that I began to notice how well the violin responded, particularly how lucid the notes sounded on the E string....The elegance and subtlety of the Strad was more apparent in the Beethoven, where Socher's dynamic changes within long bows came out nicely, with lovely ensemble with the pianist Steinberger.

Kohl plans to lend out the Stradivarius on occasion, so get in line.

Photo: Violinist.com