By Astrid Wang
Photography by Adi Wang
A centuries-old violin crafted by Antonio Stradivari and a teenager from Taiwan met in New York City, and a dream was born. Next came eight years of uncertainty, spanning three continents. Held in the balance were living pieces of a profound historical legacy: the world’s finest antique violins, whose magic could be stripped away by one wrong move from a restorer.
In 2004, Ronald Ji was a teenage violin student under the tutelage of Chao-Hsiu Lee, former president of Tainan National University of the Arts. During a visit to the United States with his teacher, Ji stepped into the studio of master luthier Horacio Pineiro in Queens and saw pieces of exquisite violins in Pineiro’s hands.
“The instrument on his table was made by Stradivari,” Ji recalled. Antonio Stradivari is regarded as the greatest Italian violin-maker of all time and was active in the late 17th and early 18th centuries in Cremona, Italy. The sight of such a valuable violin, in pieces, being worked on, made a deep impression on Ji’s young mind. At that moment, a wish formed in his heart: One day, he would do the same work.
At a dinner attended by his teacher and the luthier, Ji blurted out to Pineiro, “I want to learn from you!” Ji’s violin teacher nudged his leg under the table, signalling for him to be quiet. Ji didn’t realize that the man he was addressing was a master, the top restorer in the whole industry, worldwide.
Pineiro began his career under the tutelage of the well-known Argentinian luthier Franco Ponzo, and then with French violin-maker Henry Viret. After operating his own workshop in Buenos Aires for 14 years, he immigrated to New York where he was the chief restorer for the world-renowned Jacques Francais.
Pineiro didn’t directly turn down young Ji’s inquiry about an apprenticeship. He just gave Ji a smile and told him that if he was really interested in becoming a luthier, he should start studying woodworking…..
