Cambridge Composer Unveils Einstein’s Authentic Violin and Musical Legacy

The musical drama 'Einstein's Violin' explores the life of Albert Einstein through the power of music. The promotional poster features three people standing before a chalkboard covered in mathematical equations, with the central figure dressed as Einstein and holding a violin. Flanking him are two others, one gently touching his shoulder and the other grasping the instrument, while the title 'Einstein's Violin' is displayed above. Dr Paul Wingfield, a composer and music director at Trinity College, Cambridge, never expected that attending his brother-in-law's wake would lead him to authenticate a violin once owned by Einstein. The inspiration for the play came when Dr Wingfield saw a copy of 'Einstein for Beginners,' co-authored by his late brother-in-law Joseph Schwartz, next to a family photo of a young boy playing the violin. This moment sparked the idea for a drama that would reimagine Einstein's life through music and unexpectedly positioned Dr Wingfield as the perfect person to verify the violin's history.

Dr Wingfield spent six months researching Einstein's musical interests, gathering everything the physicist had written or said about music. The play premiered in Highgate, north London, in April and became a tribute to Mr Schwartz. 'I dedicated the show to him because I wrote it for him, really, in retrospect,' Dr Wingfield explained. 'He would have absolutely loved it. ' After one performance, Dr Wingfield received a message from an auctioneer, which began with, 'I'm not mad... ' and asked for help verifying a violin that might have belonged to Einstein. Dr Wingfield said, 'I had a gut reaction when I first held it that it was genuine. But that just makes me even more suspicious. So I had to go and look at all the documents, all the letters, scrutinise the violin and find details just to get every single element to make sure I thought it was his. '

The violin had the inscription 'Lina,' a name Einstein gave to all his violins. Dr Wingfield noted that Einstein was 15 when he received this violin, and that naming it was something an adolescent might do. He compared the inscription to Einstein's school-age handwriting and found a match. Another striking detail was the violin's slightly longer body, which would suit someone with a large left hand for fingering the strings. Dr Wingfield discovered X-rays and graphs of Einstein's hands, confirming that his left hand was indeed larger than his right. This was an exciting find. Through his research, Dr Wingfield also learned about 19th-century varnishes, the exact measurements of Einstein's hands, and even inter-war Belgian customs regulations. The 1894 Zunterer violin was expected to fetch about £300,000 but sold for £860,000 at Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Gloucestershire. 'There was a huge amount of tension in the room,' Dr Wingfield recalled. 'We were all a bit shell-shocked at the end when the hammer finally went down... it was quite an emotional moment, but I'm really happy to have held it in my hand, being involved with it and its life, and I hope that one day somebody else will play it. ' The violin, with its slightly worn wooden frame and four strings, remains a symbol of Einstein's passion for music and the unexpected connections that can arise from family, research, and history.