Stolen Stradivarius violin makes its historic comeback

By Jose Sepulveda, Buzz60

A priceless piece of music history has come back to life.

A Stradivarius that was stolen and missing for almost 4 decades returns to the stage in New York.

It was created in 1734 by Antonio Stradivari, that alone would make it one of only about 550 Stradivarius instruments left in the world.

See more on the stolen violin:

But it's story took a twist 37 years ago when it was stolen from the dressing room of virtuoso Roman Totenberg.

After the long search, it turned up in 2015.

After extensive restoration, the "Ames" Stradivarius is making its musical comeback with former Totenberg student, Mira Wang getting the honor of playing it. Wang couldn't be prouder.

"It means a great deal to me that I can use the violin, to be the first one who would bring it to the public. I often think of Roman and think about, he's looking at me from above."

A similar Strad, this one made in 1721, was sold at auction in England for over $16M in 2011.

The Totenberg family is still trying to decide what they'll do with the instrument... but you can bet they are keeping a close eye on it.