A Stradivarius Violin That Belongs to the Future

Carla Shapreau’s story on the Alcantara Stradivarius violin was spellbinding (“Lost and Found. And Lost Again?” Feb. 12). I savored every word of her artfully written, passionate recollection of her part in returning the Stradivarius to UCLA.

Sadly, at the end of Shapreau’s story, the ugly head of greed showed its face in the form of UCLA’s contemplated sale of the violin. To sell it would be a betrayal of the generous gift of Genevieve Vedder to UCLA. It is apparent that her gift was a gift to the future of music, a gift to students and ordinary people to be administered by a trusted institution of learning.

As Shapreau so eloquently pointed out, you can’t sell something that doesn’t belong to you. The violin belongs to the future--as a bridge to the past. It belongs where it is: held in trust by UCLA.

Chris Fuentes

Cerritos

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I’ve seldom enjoyed an article as much as I did Shapreau’s. It was a very interesting story and told in the most compelling way. She is not only a violin maker and a lawyer, but a wonderful writer as well.

Nan Lewis

Los Angeles