Kalyn tells the Times that just four students of the New England Conservatory have used the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius in the past decade, each for a year or two.

The violin, known as the "Joachim-Ma Stradivarius," was made during Stradivari’s "golden period" when he was at the height of his acoustic mastery of the instrument, Sotheby’s said.

Violinist Stefan Jackiw plays the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius violin of 1714, in front of a painting by Italian Renaissance painter Tintoretto, at Sotheby's auction house in New York City, the United ...

The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius violin, regarded as one of Antonio Stradivari's best works, sold for $11.3 million at an auction in New York.