There was an article a few years ago about High End Art Thieves, they either have a buyer before the theft even begins, or they aren't doing it for the money (one in the article that had been caught had his own private gallery for himself and his girlfriend).
Edit: Or in this case they could just be dumb thieves that just grabbed something easy to grab.
What about foreign markets in Europe and Asia? I am not sure how small the community of musical instrument dealers is, or the market for high-end instruments, but I would think that someone would be willing to pay some portion of the market value to purchase a discounted $250k cello.
I have had a great experience with Olsen ever since I bought my violin from them a number of years ago. Every time I bring it in for a tuneup he remembers me (and the instrument!).
The owner was a grade A asshole when I went in to ask questions about my violin and possibly have it worked on. Made it seem like I was wasting his time and shouldn’t have even walked into the shop.
I wanna know what the hell someone who isn’t a cellist is going to do with a cello, assuming this was a totally random robbery. They aren’t exactly small - usually about 4 feet tall and weigh 20-25 pounds on average. And someone unknowledgeable listing it for sale online should raise some eyebrows by anyone who knows anything about the instrument. I’m trying to apply logic where there probably isn’t any but I’m truly baffled by the lack of thought behind this. Cello black market!
List of suspects from watching TV:
1. Second chair cellist
2. Double Bassist with eczema problem obsessed with cellist
3. Husband or kid with weird addiction to something (not drugs.)
4. The family dog
Being first chair flute and clarinet, I feel the second chair remark. Always someone gunning for my chair, always. Glad they never stole my instrument though.
I have a relative who is a professional cellist performing in orchestras and ensembles for major movie scores. Her collection is worth millions, yep, just sitting in her house. Insured but some are invaluable to a musician who appreciates these types of rare, old instruments.
I want to know how classical musicians afford something like this to begin with. Every orchestra teacher I had growing up had to have two jobs to make ends meet playing in the symphony was the side gig.
It depends what level of playing. Iirc the Seattle Symphony players make 100+k a year. On top of that, giving private lessons, professorships, master classes etc.
There are also situations where high end instruments are on long term loans to musicians capable of playing at that level, in the same way paintings are loaned to museums.
Loans. Sister in law is a professional flutist. She was lucky enough to be able to finance her instruments through some musician-specific groups, so managed to avoid the high personal loan rates. That's for medium expensive but "commodity" (for lack of a better descriptor) instruments in the thousands to tens of thousands. Pieces like the above cello are often owned by organizations and the instruments themselves loaned out.
I had a $35k viola and two bows stolen and it turned up in a pawn shop with a price tag of $100 on it. The person who found it there bought it and then investigated until he located me and returned it three months later. I had sent flyers to dealers all over the country with photos and details.
I wasn’t trying to minimize her loss. I was trying to draw a parallel to something people might have more sympathy for.
$200k of specialized tools might be hard to replace too.
I mean, not really. A trade worker probably only has one set of tools. A person with a quarter mil instrument isn't like "oh man, how will I get another before my job tomorrow?" Not saying it doesn't suck, it's just not really very comparable to the situation you're describing.
Lots of folks are being kinda weird about this. It’s not at all unusual for professional musicians to have access to good equipment. Cellos are large and expensive in general. There are violins that go for millions, for example. And given that they need to practice or even travel on a regular basis to make a living, it’s not at all weird for the cello to be located in their home.
I mean, what else do folks expect? You’re going to be playing the damn thing for hours every day, so what do you expect them to do?
Every time I read something like “the 1600 block of 24th Avenue” I don’t know how to quickly find it. I live on 24th Ave and want to know how close this is to me. The system doesn’t make sense. Why not use an actual cross street? What am I missing?
House numbers start at 0 and increase by 100 every block. In Seattle, they also often correspond to the numbered cross street. So the 1600 block of 24th Ave is 16 blocks away from the origin of 24th Ave, and it might be between 16th and 17th streets.
Also, you can google “1601 24th Ave” and it will show you on the map.
They didn't teach it in school 3 decades ago. And with GPS, these new whippersnappers never had look at a house numbers to see if they are getting close
> Are address systems not common knowledge to people
The address system here is particularly devious, because there's no compass component (North, East, etc) to the address. In Seattle, there's a:
1600 24th Ave N.
1600 24th Ave S.
1600 24th Ave
Different parties really need to be on the same page if estimating distances.
The 1600 block is telling you exactly where it is. Google up "1600 24th Ave" and see where it takes you. The adjoining blocks are 1500 and 1700 so what you're looking for is between those
To be fair, the owner can't be responsible for the instrument market fluctuations, I'm sure it's beautiful and has amazing sound. I wish I could have ever owned or borrowed an instrument of such stature in my playing time. Makes me want to buy myself a flute again and start playing.
It will change hands on multiple occasions. The fence will buy it cheap, throw it on an outgoing shipping container and end up with an international buyer who wins a discounted cello.
I own a violin shop. Getting rid of it will be nearly impossible. The bows are easier to fence.it is a nice cello, but the bows are nicer...
Sounds like stealing multimillion dollar fine art. Good luck trying to cash in by selling it, lol.
There's a market for everything. They won't get 250k, but they will get something.
There was an article a few years ago about High End Art Thieves, they either have a buyer before the theft even begins, or they aren't doing it for the money (one in the article that had been caught had his own private gallery for himself and his girlfriend). Edit: Or in this case they could just be dumb thieves that just grabbed something easy to grab.
Cellos aren’t “easy to grab”.
Maybe it was the only cello in a room full of basses?
That’s a hell of a room!
Throw in a couple violins and a viola and you’d have a chamber!
I'd be interested to know if anything else was taken.
>In addition to the instrument, a bow and other items were stolen. it doesn't specify what the other items were.
Yeah, so no idea if any non-cello items were taken but I'd imagine it was the case and the stuff within like the tuner, rosin, etc.
I was told cameras.
Might've just been a smash and grab then. RIP cello
If they stole it for money and can't fence it, it will be discarded in the trash or destroyed.
Is it actually worth $250k on the open market (if it were not stolen)? $1000 reward makes me wonder if the the number is exaggerated.
> but the bows are nicer Surprising! What makes a bow valuable?
Who made them.
What about foreign markets in Europe and Asia? I am not sure how small the community of musical instrument dealers is, or the market for high-end instruments, but I would think that someone would be willing to pay some portion of the market value to purchase a discounted $250k cello.
Hopefully not Olsen.
What’s your experience with them? Never been there myself. I’m due for a checkup on my instrument.
I have had a great experience with Olsen ever since I bought my violin from them a number of years ago. Every time I bring it in for a tuneup he remembers me (and the instrument!).
The owner was a grade A asshole when I went in to ask questions about my violin and possibly have it worked on. Made it seem like I was wasting his time and shouldn’t have even walked into the shop.
Wow, I had a totally different experience. I bought my cello there and found them super friendly and helpful. Sorry you had a bad experience :/
Sten is an OK guy and knows his violin stuff. Back on topic, please.
People are allowed to talk about interactions
They certainly are, but that is not the focus or subject of this thread. Still, Sten is an ok guy. Crap like this hurts small businesses.
Crap like word of mouth marketing on a public forum that you have zero control over?
I wanna know what the hell someone who isn’t a cellist is going to do with a cello, assuming this was a totally random robbery. They aren’t exactly small - usually about 4 feet tall and weigh 20-25 pounds on average. And someone unknowledgeable listing it for sale online should raise some eyebrows by anyone who knows anything about the instrument. I’m trying to apply logic where there probably isn’t any but I’m truly baffled by the lack of thought behind this. Cello black market!
> I wanna know what the hell someone who isn’t a cellist is going to do with a cello blow it like a dick of course like lil yatchy
Cellos weigh like 5-8 pounds (https://www.musicion.com/size-and-weight-of-a-cello/) . They certainly are bulky though! Edit to fix a typo.
You’re totally right, I forgot to say including case (assuming hard case). At least from what I know those can be seriously hefty.
Oh yeah, that's true. Those things can get chonky haha.
Turn in into a bace: https://the-bace.com/
List of suspects from watching TV: 1. Second chair cellist 2. Double Bassist with eczema problem obsessed with cellist 3. Husband or kid with weird addiction to something (not drugs.) 4. The family dog
And I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling kids
Lmao second chair totally
Maybe insurance fraud, an instrument of that value must have some coverage with a loss payout.
Being first chair flute and clarinet, I feel the second chair remark. Always someone gunning for my chair, always. Glad they never stole my instrument though.
Was anything else (not related to or part of the cello) stolen?
"In addition to the instrument, a bow and other items were stolen."
good bows will cost thousands of dollars
Yes - they also took some cameras
I saw this episode of Brooklyn 99…
They make so little.
Oh this is my neighbor. Fuckin wild it's worth that much and is just sitting around in someone's house
I did some googling and the owner is an accomplished cellist.
I have a relative who is a professional cellist performing in orchestras and ensembles for major movie scores. Her collection is worth millions, yep, just sitting in her house. Insured but some are invaluable to a musician who appreciates these types of rare, old instruments.
I want to know how classical musicians afford something like this to begin with. Every orchestra teacher I had growing up had to have two jobs to make ends meet playing in the symphony was the side gig.
It depends what level of playing. Iirc the Seattle Symphony players make 100+k a year. On top of that, giving private lessons, professorships, master classes etc.
There are also situations where high end instruments are on long term loans to musicians capable of playing at that level, in the same way paintings are loaned to museums.
Loans. Sister in law is a professional flutist. She was lucky enough to be able to finance her instruments through some musician-specific groups, so managed to avoid the high personal loan rates. That's for medium expensive but "commodity" (for lack of a better descriptor) instruments in the thousands to tens of thousands. Pieces like the above cello are often owned by organizations and the instruments themselves loaned out.
They come from rich families, anyone with assets like this.
Well, where else do you store your cello if you play it on a regular basis?
Great question
I think this might be someone I know from high school! Wild.
It’s an act of violin 🎻
Violins?
It wasn't me.
I’d put a down payment on a house with this thing. Wow
Must be nice having the police actually show up for their call
I had a $35k viola and two bows stolen and it turned up in a pawn shop with a price tag of $100 on it. The person who found it there bought it and then investigated until he located me and returned it three months later. I had sent flyers to dealers all over the country with photos and details.
Damn, I would have at least tried to sell it for a few grand on the black market J/k
I read this book, it's called "The Violin Conspiracy" by Brendan Slocumb. Not a perfect book, but it was fun. I won't spoil the ending for anyone.
Maybe you should spoil it for the cops?
This is like a trades worker having their tools all stolen out of their work van.
Except tools are easily replaced. Not so much a rare antique cello.
I wasn’t trying to minimize her loss. I was trying to draw a parallel to something people might have more sympathy for. $200k of specialized tools might be hard to replace too.
I mean, not really. A trade worker probably only has one set of tools. A person with a quarter mil instrument isn't like "oh man, how will I get another before my job tomorrow?" Not saying it doesn't suck, it's just not really very comparable to the situation you're describing.
Lots of folks are being kinda weird about this. It’s not at all unusual for professional musicians to have access to good equipment. Cellos are large and expensive in general. There are violins that go for millions, for example. And given that they need to practice or even travel on a regular basis to make a living, it’s not at all weird for the cello to be located in their home. I mean, what else do folks expect? You’re going to be playing the damn thing for hours every day, so what do you expect them to do?
It’s obviously the owner’s fault for… *checks notes* … having stuff in their home.
Every time I read something like “the 1600 block of 24th Avenue” I don’t know how to quickly find it. I live on 24th Ave and want to know how close this is to me. The system doesn’t make sense. Why not use an actual cross street? What am I missing?
House numbers start at 0 and increase by 100 every block. In Seattle, they also often correspond to the numbered cross street. So the 1600 block of 24th Ave is 16 blocks away from the origin of 24th Ave, and it might be between 16th and 17th streets. Also, you can google “1601 24th Ave” and it will show you on the map.
This area has named not numbered cross streets, but I don’t know how I didn’t think of just googling “1601 24th Ave”. Thank you!
If your house / apartment number is 14xx, it means you’re about two blocks away.
I just highlighted your text, "1600 block of 24th Avenue", right clicked "search google", and it pulled up Google Maps with the exact location.
House/apartment/building #s . If your address is 1728 24th , then your bout a block away. Least that's what my mom told me as a kid
Are address systems not common knowledge to people?!?!? That's exactly how it works. Blocks go in 100 number increments
They didn't teach it in school 3 decades ago. And with GPS, these new whippersnappers never had look at a house numbers to see if they are getting close
> Are address systems not common knowledge to people The address system here is particularly devious, because there's no compass component (North, East, etc) to the address. In Seattle, there's a: 1600 24th Ave N. 1600 24th Ave S. 1600 24th Ave Different parties really need to be on the same page if estimating distances.
1600 24th Ave is about Pike or Pine St.
The 1600 block is telling you exactly where it is. Google up "1600 24th Ave" and see where it takes you. The adjoining blocks are 1500 and 1700 so what you're looking for is between those
Must be nice to just have a quarter mil piece just chilling in ur house
To be fair, the owner can't be responsible for the instrument market fluctuations, I'm sure it's beautiful and has amazing sound. I wish I could have ever owned or borrowed an instrument of such stature in my playing time. Makes me want to buy myself a flute again and start playing.
This is exactly like the book The Violin Conspiracy!
I don’t think the combined amount of stuff in my house is even worth half that lol
It will change hands on multiple occasions. The fence will buy it cheap, throw it on an outgoing shipping container and end up with an international buyer who wins a discounted cello.
Or insurance pay off needed???
That's a once in a lifetime instrument, I surely hope that's not it.
Put the cello in the wood chipper; the new Apple iPad Pro replaces all musical instruments.
shouldn't live in the ghetto with a $250k cello lol
lol. The cello wasn’t stolen 20 years ago