MUSIC

No Strings Attached: Speaking of treasured instruments, a Japanese company is offering free use of a Stradivarius violin to the winner of a musical competition to be held in Tokyo in October. Forval Corp., a Tokyo company that sells and services electronic equipment, says the idea is to give gifted artists a chance to use the coveted instrument for two years to help their talents flower. The company declined to say how much it paid for its 1697 Stradivarius, bought from Norbert Brainin, first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet. About 600 violins and a few violas and cellos made by Antonio Stradivari, an Italian who lived from 1644 to 1737, still exist today.