A conductor accidentally knocked a rare violin out of a violinist’s hand in the middle of a concert.
Footage shows Maestro Matthew Halls enthusiastically directing his orchestra before whacking the instrument, worth £1million, out of the player’s grip with his swinging arms and baton.
The female violinist Elina Vähälä lets out a scream, hands jumping to hold her face, as the violin flips three times in the air before crashing on to the floor.
She proceeds to look down in complete horror at the instrument made by Guadagnini, regarded as one of the greatest violin makers, lying upside down on the floor.
The orchestra continues playing until the conductor stops them, as Ms Vähälä leans down in her long black dress and gently picks the violin up – while concerned musicians watch her.
Following a tense two-minute interval, Ms Vähälä continued playing Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1.
The violin endured little damage from the incident in Lahti’s Sibelius Hall, helped by Ms Vähälä breaking its fall with her foot.
The 50-year-old described playing the last chord of the piece’s section and ‘released [her] grip ever so slightly’, causing the violin to flip three times in the air.
Footage shows Maestro Matthew Halls enthusiastically directing his orchestra before whacking the violin, worth £1million, out of the player’s grip with his swinging arms and baton
The female violinist Elina Vähälä lets out a scream and grabs her face as it flips three times in the air before crashing on to the floor
The orchestra continues playing until the conductor stops them, as Ms Vähälä leans down in her long black dress and gently picks the violin up – while concerned musicians watched her
Following a tense two-minute interval, Ms Vähälä continued playing Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 after picking it back up
This left the violin with no cracks or scratches, while revealing Ms Vähälä’s quick reflexes, as the violinist said: ‘My Guadagnini is perfectly fine!’
She continued: ‘The glue between the top and the ribs gave in, as it’s supposed to do, in order to protect the top and the back from cracking during humidity changes.
‘Or as we discovered, from an impact. The guardian angel of old Italian instruments was present.’
The show was the first time the violinist and Mr Halls played together.
Ms Vähälä, who was born in the US and raised in Finland, and made her orchestral debut aged 12. Max Bruch’s violin concerto is one of the most popular violin concertos for a solo violin piece.
She said she hopes to work with Mr Halls again, adding: ‘We definitely share an intense memory together!’
She continued: ‘I am happy that we managed to finish the concerto despite the scary interruption. The audience was breathing every second with us with full attention! What an evening.’
Mr Halls described having the ‘great joy’ of ‘conducting the Bruch violin concerto many times over the years’, adding this one will be one he will ‘certainly never forget’.
Should conductors be held responsible for damaging musicians’ priceless instruments during performances?
Ms Vähälä, who was born in the US and raised in Finland, and made her orchestral debut aged 12. Max Bruch’s violin concerto is one of the most popular violin concertos for a solo violin piece
Mr Halls has been the Chief Conductor of Finland’s Tampere Philharmonic since August 2023
In commemoration for Ms Vähälä, he said: ‘Words cannot adequately express my admiration for this remarkable artist, who gave a blistering account before and after the “YouTube” incident.
‘Thank you Elina Vähälä for being a wonderful friend and colleague, and thank you Signor Guadagnini for your superior craftsmanship.
‘All’s well that ends well.’
Mr Halls has been the Chief Conductor of Finland’s Tampere Philharmonic since August 2023.
The Italian Guadagnini family was known for their violins, guitars and mandolins. Guadagnini’s violins sell for millions of pounds. A violin was sold for £1.5million in June 2018 at the Tarisio Fine Instruments & Bows auction house in New York.
