Strads in Madrid

The Palacio Real in Madrid is home to a magnificent quartet of Stradivari which are occasionally allowed to be used for concerts within the Palace by a lucky few visiting groups. In January we became members of this exclusive club.

As we entered the chambers of the Palace where the instruments are housed, we walked past the empty display cases labelled with the details of each of them, our anticipation mounting as we realized they had been removed for our use! Our first sighting of the instruments was laid out in beautiful antique cases on a huge mahogony table, the cello mounted on a stand. Everything shone. The wood caught the light in the most magical way, the ornate decoration was immaculate and astonishing. That these instruments have remained intact for 400 years, through political upheaval, wars and all manner of modernization around them is quite amazing.

The guardian of the collection, who stayed with us tenaciously through each of our rehearsal sessions, pointed out the precautions taken to keep them in such great condition whilst allowing them to be played. The cello wears a felt collar around the shoulders for all but the actual performance, the viola must be played without touching the ribs, more delicate as the decoration is painted rather than inlaid as is the case with the violins. This was quite a challenge as we were performing works of 20th century British composers who quite often call for the viola to play in the high registers! Paul tried his best to respect the request, but we all found it was all too easy to forget the magnitude of this collection as one felt so much at home playing them. The sound was warm and inviting, the blend between the four a joy to behold, yet there was a sense that they projected with a clarity all string players aspire to and rarely find. It was indeed a huge privilege to live amongst these treasures for a short time.

Before the concert we all snatched as much time alone with our instruments as we could, wandering off into corners of the beautiful concert chamber to explore them further. I was lucky and stayed on the stage, soaring through some of my daily Bach Suites and filling the room with their sound on this lovely cello.

Walking on and off the stage carrying such precious cargo was a daunting prospect and one had to just forget and treat it like any other concert. There was a heart-stopping moment though when Daniel stepped on the hem of my dress and I had to take the snap decision to keep walking as any hesitation could have caused a catastrophic domino effect! Luckily all was well. By the time we had climbed up and down the steps to the stage so many times I was ready to give the cello back, thankful that it had survived in my hands. My original plan to have another farewell play before handing it over felt too much like tempting fate and I gladly returned it to its guardian, who lost no time in locking them all away safely.

When one considers the accumulated value of four such pristine instruments which were made as a collection therefore not one of them can afford to be damaged or lost, the mind boggles. But how wonderful that the Royal Palace is so willing and happy to celebrate them by having them played regularly by the lucky few.