Kass says he knows of no musical instrument that has sold for as much as $30 million. The highest price paid for a violin at auction was $15.9 million for the “Lady Blunt” Stradivarius, in 2011.

As for the “Macdonald” instrument, this 1719 Strad commands its premium because it’s a viola, the slightly larger and deeper-toned sister of the violin. While hundreds of known Stradivari ...

The viola is the middle voice of the string family. It is slightly larger than a violin and has a lower and deeper sound than a violin. Since the 18th century it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

Conn-Selmer is a subsidiary of Steinway. Under the Conn-Selmer banner are 21 brass, woodwind and stringed instrument brands. Most of these companies used to be solely owned and in competition with ...

Which is perhaps a good thing. The Tuscan-Medici viola from the workshop of Antonio Stradivari was recently valued at $30 million, likely making it the most expensive musical instrument in the world.

Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford holds the historic Tuscan-Medici viola by Antonio Stradivari onstage before a performance by Roberto Diaz at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Wednesday, May 14 ...