Russian dishes out 3.5m for Stradivarius violin

Washington, Feb 14 : A Russian businessman has set a world record by forking out a whopping 3.5 million pounds for a Stradivarius violin, at a London auction

This violin once belonged to the 19th century Belgian composer Henri Vieuxtemps and has not been seen or played in public for more than 70 years,.

The violin finally went to Maxim Viktorov, a Russian businessman, for a price "well in excess," and thought to be double, of the previous record for a Stradivarius of 1.75 million pounds.

The 20-year-old violinist, Chloe Hanslip started the auction at Sotheby's by playing a rendition of Paganini's 24th Caprice and a piece from the film The Red Violin.

ANI