“In Tuesday’s (2/11) Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee), Annysa Johnson writes that Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Frank Almond spoke publicly for the first time since the return of his Lipinski Stradivarius, “in a wide-ranging discussion hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club on Tuesday…. Almond played the returned instrument for the first time Monday night to a packed house at the Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, where the standing ovations began even before he stepped foot onstage. That was indicative, Almond said Tuesday, of the support he’s received—from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra management to fellow musicians to the general public. ‘To walk out and see that crowd … it was really heartening,’ Almond said… ‘It was a wonderful and very emotional evening for me.’ ” Almond “would not speculate on how publicity surrounding the heist might affect the MSO’s $5 million fundraising campaign or attendance … [but] acknowledged that one positive outcome of the theft might be to spark interest among people who are not currently concertgoers … [and] a greater understanding of the importance of these rare and beautiful instruments.’ ”
Posted February 13, 2014
