The Teatro Argentina in Rome is hosting Christian Poltera’s concert with a Stradivari cello from 1711 that survived a shipwreck. Christian Poltera, one of the most acclaimed cellists of his generation, will use on Thursday 9 in concert at the Teatro Argentina for the Roman Philharmonic Academy, alongside the English pianist Kathryn Stott in a program that ranges from some of the most famous works for cello and piano by Brahms, Chopin and Prokofiev.
To embellish the debut, it will be precisely the instrument that Poltera will hold, the legendary “Mara” built by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona in 1711 which owes its name to the first known owner, Giovanni Mara, a cellist who will sell the instrument to pay off debts.
Passed through the hands of various cellists over the course of two centuries, in 1961 due to a shipwreck in the Rio de la Plata, while the owner, Amedeo Baldovino, was with the Trieste Trio, the instrument was recovered after being immersed in water for many hours. It took three years of restoration and recomposition of the parts for the instrument to start playing again.
