Rare Violin Back in Owner's Hands

Catching some shut-eye on a New York City subway is always risky, but doing it with a very old, very valuable instrument in tow is just asking for trouble. Violin virtuoso Tom Chiu found this lesson out, the hard way, last week. Wednesday, Chiu, fresh off a concert with his Flux Quartet at Bargemusic, was waiting for his subway ride out of Clark St. Station in the Brooklyn Heights and was overcome by fatigue. The 36-year-old eventually roused himself from his nap only to find his laptop, backpack, and his 1913 Scarampella violin missing, according to New York Daily News. The 94-year-old instrument had been scrimped and saved for with painstaking care by his parents, and inside its case were also family photos, handwritten music scores, and a bow that had been with Chiu since he was a boy. More than the monetary loss, Chiu felt the blow of the loss. "All these items are completely irreplaceable," Chiu said.

But Chiu was not long parted from his beloved violin. The New York Sun's Christopher Faherty reports that on Tuesday, the elated musician picked up the rare Scarampella after he got a call from the Metropolitan Transport Authority. Officials from the MTA told him that the instrument (and Chiu's backpack) had been returned to the lost and found at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station located in northern Brooklyn. Scarampella violins often sell for between $75,000 and $100,000 at auction.