Good news from Ann Frederking: The Curtin viola stolen in February in Montreal has been recovered at a Montreal area pawn shop!

A Note from Deb Lander 10/10/08

One of my students had her viola stolen from her locker yesterday. Two
trumpets were taken last week, so we're obviously a target at the moment. The police say it's an organised nationwide gang, so heads up! I've copied some details below, just in case, you never know where these things might turn up.

The viola belonged to Ellen Boerger and it was taken from her locker (the
lock was either broken or picked). It is a 16 inch light brown instrument by
Andrew Botti from the workshop of Christopher Pu. There was also a
pernambucco bow in the case, and the case is tan and oblong.

Please contact Deb if you have any information.

8/4/08

Dear Fellow Violists:  

Please help me put the word out! 

Last week my home was burglarized and they stole my 16 1/2 inch Viola made by Carl Becker in 1982.  It was made to order, and I had him tone down the usual bright orange tint.  It is still orange, but not as dramatic as some of his other creations. 

The viola was in a baby blue silk bag with drawstring and inside of a rectangular case. THe inside of the case was royal blue plush. This was the usual case they use at Beckers, including a humidifier tube.  There were two bows in the case.  One very good one, and one left over from student days as an emergency back up.  There were several strings and rosin in the case also. 

The outside of the hard case had a water-proof royal blue cloth cover with a zipper around it, and a zipper pocket on top in which you could fit orchestra music. There may be a copy of the Viola part of the Messiah in that. There may be a scratch on the front right side going from the finger board down to below the F hole.  This was made by a violinist who asked to see the instrument, who had very long fingernails.  She scratched it somehow when she handed it back to me.

It is numbered. The number is 770 – 1982  Carl Becker & Son

And it will be found on the label on the inside of the Viola which can be viewed through the F hole. It also has a Menuhin shoulder support attached to the viola.

I cannot afford the replacement value today! Reward for return.  No questions asked.

Please help me get my viola back. 

If you have ANY leads, please contact me.

Vicki Urban
815-469-8722
vandcurban@aol.com

CARL BECKER & SON
1-773-348-5698
1416 W. Belmont
Chicago, Il. 60657
1992   16 1/2" Viola - 48 cm

I believe these strings were inside:
  ? Jargar A I la (10.36)
137Perlon Dominant (D) II re (9.84)
138Perlon Dominant (G)III sol (13.68)
139Perlon Dominant Viola (C)IV do(23.60)
2/97 $32,000.00

Missing:

Stolen from my South Austin home on September 24, 2006: 16 3/4" cutaway model viola by Otto Erdesz unlabeled, probably mid-1970's *VERY UNUSUAL - spruce top and maple neck, but the rest of the instrument is teak wood, including a grafted scroll* Medium brown varnish. Was stolen in a black oblong Bobelock case with burgundy interior, and had plain ebony fittings and a plastic crosshatched chinrest.

Contact info:
512-441-2127 (home) or 512-636-9017 (cell) and
Email: s.ames@prodigy.net

Description of stolen viola and viola bow, both in oblong brown case. Stolen from a private residence in Lewisville, Texas, on June 6, 2005.

Viola

The two-piece back is maple with even, medium-wide figure. The varnish has alternate light and dark bands that fade slightly towards the edges. The neck has a much lighter varnish, and the scroll has a darker, medium brown varnish.

The spruce top has medium-fine grain spacing, and an even, medium orange varnish. However, there are some blemishes/scratches below
the right f-hole. Both top and bottom have a dark inlaid purfling.

The viola is labeled inside with the maker’s name and year of construction:
Tetsuo Matsuda
1985

Ebony fingerboard, tailpiece, and chinrest. The A string has a fine
tuner. The instrument is further identifiable by the maker.

Photos of the instrument are available online at:
http://neon.home.texas.net/viola.html

Bow

Round stick with dark varnish, stamped Horst Schicker. Ivory tip plate,
silver winding, ebony frog with pearl eye overlay.

Case

Brown oblong case with zippered pocket and blue velvet interior.
Accessories include a Wolf shoulder rest, dampit, electronic metronome,
rosin, Thomastik Dominant strings.

Contact:

Steve Jasper /
972-221-0954
freon@texas.net
OR
Lewisville Police Department / 972-219-3620 / Case# 05-07149

Missing:

Moes and Moes viola - 16" 2001 (ID#BM01 on body under the
fingerboard), orange-ish finish, few knicks and scratches very good, shiny condition Schroeder viola bow (name worn out on wood)
Mach One viola rest all of this was in a black canvas viola case with green interior.

If you have information on the whereabouts of this instrument, please contact:
Beth Meyers
718-809-5764
bethanybeach18@hotmail.com

Missing:

Viola:
Made by Stefan Peter Greiner in Bonn in 2004. There is no paper inside, just a small burnt mark near the sound post "S.P.Greiner"; and the "Nr.181" is hand-written inside also. The viola is a Guarneri model, the corpus has a size of ca.40.7 cm (inches?). It's a very close copy of an old instrument, like most Greiner instruments.

The viola was in a black case with green velvet and there were three bows with it. One by A.Lamy (an eye was missing on this one), one by W.Salchow and one by E.Dörfler. All have round sticks. The Dörfler bow has a silver tip.

If you have information on the whereabouts of this instrument, please contact:
Amalia Aubert at: aubert@gmx.net

To submit a notice regarding a stolen viola, please send a detailed description, contact information, and a photo if possible to:

Kathryn Steely, AVS Webmaster