Chi Mei Museum is not only known for its large collection of exquisite violins but also for its generosity in lending them for free to Taiwanese prodigies, sources said.
Of the 468 world-class violins that Chi Mei Business Group founder Hsu Wen-long (?s) has collected from around the world, 84 are on loan to young virtuosos studying abroad.
One recepient is Henry Tong (董子維), an 18-year-old student at Britain’s Royal Academy of Music, who has a Michele Deconet violin from the museum in Rende Township (仁德), Tainan County.
On a recent trip to Taipei to perform, Tong said he has been a “customer” of the museum since he was a 13-year-old preparing to take part in a local contest.
“While I was trying a violin in the museum’s concert hall, Hsu happened to pass by. Hearing the sound of the violin, he came in and asked me to play a short piece for him … He then urged me to do my best,” Tong said.
Playing the classic violin, Tong won the top prize in the competition. When he was later admitted to the Yehudi Menuhin Music School in England, he took along a Nicola Gagliano violin loaned by Chi Mei.
“It was only after I began studying abroad that I realized how lucky I was … Young European musicians would only have the opportunity to play a famous violin if they won a prestigious contest. Such access would usually come with certain conditions, including a short deadline for returning the instrument,” Tong said.
Young musicians can apply to borrow a violin whenever they have a formal performance in Taiwan or if they want to take part in major competitions abroad. Those going abroad for study need only produce an admission certification or student cards to be loaned a violin.
Only Taiwanese nationals or those whose fathers or mothers are Taiwanese can apply.
“A fine violin tends to fetch NT$3 million [US$93,000] or even NT$4 million, an amount beyond the reach of the average family, so the museum, with Hsu’s support, has been lending its violins to local musicians,” said Chung Tai-ting (鍾岱廷), an adviser to the museum.
The museum does not charge the borrowers, although they must pay an insurance premium of about NT$12,000 per year.
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