[MSN] US. Musician's rare violin taken from NYC subway station is recovered

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Musician's rare violin taken from NYC subway station is recovered
July 4, 2007, 2:12 PM EDT

NEW YORK -- The owner of a rare 20th-century violin that went missing after he fell asleep on a hot subway train has been reunited with his precious instrument.

"I just want to quickly tell you that my violin was recovered late last night/early this morning ... I'm of course overjoyed!!!," Tom Chiu, a Juilliard School graduate and founder of the avant-garde ensemble Flux Quartet, wrote Wednesday in an e-mail message about his Scarampella violin.

The violin and his backpack were stolen June 27.

Chiu said it was raining that night and he went into the hot and humid subway station and fell asleep. When he awoke, he said, his bags were gone.

Chiu, who calls his violin his "heart and soul for the last 13 years," said in a statement that the violin and the backpack and its contents were "turned into the MTA Transit Lost-and-Found, and an MTA official contacted" Chiu late Tuesday evening.

The contents included a violin bow that Chiu has used since childhood.

NYC Transit did not immediately return a call seeking details about the recovery.

At the time of the theft, Chiu said the violin and bow "all have great sentimental value to me and are completely irreplaceable. I hope the person who has my violin will return it to me. I would be forever grateful."

Chiu did not say what the violin was worth but said it had originally belonged to his parents.

The violin was made by Stefano Scarampella, one of the most highly regarded violin makers from the early 20th century in Italy.

http://www.newsday.com