"For years, Colin Maki and his associates - purveyors of some of the finest and rarest violins ever made - had been circling the Playfair, an ultra-rare model crafted by the famed luthier Guarneri "del Gesù" in 1741. Little is known about the Playfair's passage through the centuries, but its profile suggests a life spent moving between gifted hands. It was last sold by W.E. Hill & Sons, a storied London shop."
""An opportunity arose," Maki says, "to play matchmaker." The artist they landed on was a 24-year-old from San Gabriel, who plays both violin and piano: Ray Ushikubo. Ushikubo has performed at Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall, appeared on NBC's "Tonight Show With Jay Leno," and won numerous awards including the Davidson Fellow Laureate Award and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition. Now comes one of his greatest feats: his debut on the Playfair, one of the most exceptional instruments in violin history."
Ray Ushikubo began playing on a $20 violin at age six and now, at 24, has been entrusted with an indefinite loan of the Playfair, a 1741 Guarneri del Gesù violin valued in the eight figures. The Playfair passed through collectors and a prominent musician after being sold by W.E. Hill & Sons, and purveyors Colin Maki and associates facilitated the loan. Ushikubo has performed at Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall, appeared on NBC's Tonight Show With Jay Leno, and won awards including the Davidson Fellow Laureate and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition. Ushikubo will perform on the Playfair at a free downtown Los Angeles concert on Dec. 3.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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