A message from Barthold Kuijken
On September 20th 2004, while putting my luggage in a locker at The Hague Central Station, my shoulder bag containing four - very good - traversos (and personal papers, telephone, calendar, address book etc..) was grabbed away. It stood between my legs on the floor, but the thief was very experienced and fast: I hardly noticed a shadow moving and something slipping against my trousers.
Following instruments were stolen:
1) A. Weemaels, Hotteterre copy, 387 Hz., boxwood, in a nice wooden box it consists of 8 pieces:
- wooden end cap
- ivory end cap
- head joint
- wooden connection
- ivory connection
- middle joint
- wooden foot (with ivory ring)
- ivory foot
2) A. Weemaels, A. Grenser copy, 415 Hz., boxwood with (imitation-) ivory rings,4 pieces, no corkscrew but end cap, register foot
3) R. Tutz, I.H. Rottenburgh copy, stained boxwood with (imitation-) ivory rings, 4 pieces, corkscrew, register foot
4) Ph. Allain-Dupre (but unsigned), Quantz copy, 392 Hz., ebony or grenadilla, 4 pieces, (head joint with corkscrew and tuning slide), two keys and register on foot
The last three instruments were carried in a clear brown soft leather purse. I hope any of you could help me finding these instruments! (honestly, I don’t dare to hope very much that I’ll ever see them back, but one never knows…)
Anyway: thanks for looking out!
Bart
e-mail address of Barthold Kuijken e-mail: barthold.kuijken@pi.be
Please forward this e-mail to any helpful source, from the music world, second hand shops, music fairs, music schools etc.
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I am transversefluteplayer and recorderplayer myself and I do small resorations on flutes and so on. Also I restorate recorders. Often there are coming `dubious’ flutes to me from where I am doubting that they are the owner of the instrument. So I will look after these flutes and I will see whatever I can do to get them.
Bart, is robed by junkies they need to have their drugs and do that on that way. More not. If they are polite to the instruments they will go to the conservatory and try to sell the instruments there a price that everybody would doubt (when they have experience in prices of those kind of flutes) that those beautiful instruments have that price. We know all that junkies sell stolen bikes for € 10,=. So their prices are very low. If I see them here in my house than immediately I say to them that I want to restorate the instruments but that it cost me a day and that they can come in the night back. Than I won’t do anything exept playing the instruments to see if there is nothing wrong with the instruments and than I will call the police just one half of an hour before and they will be here in my house to catch the thieves lateron and after that I will call the owner of the stolen goods.
I have experienced that also like that and they will be caught. By Bart they were junkies, but by Paul Leenhouts were that coming colleages. We need to be way and way allert that those things can happen. Maybe a very expensive lesson for Bart aswell. But a lesson. Still he is alive so nothing wrong with him as person. He keeps his job and he keeps his life, but I know (There were also very beautiful instruments stolen from me, also once by junkies in my house and also once by a wrong student from me !!) So I see as nobody else before what it is to miss a child. Because that it is for a fluteplayer.
So I will look after it. Please go to the police and make a statement about it when it is not done before. Personally i have sent an e-mail to Bart Kuijken personally aswell.
Thanks
Jan Prins.
0618696504
transverseflute@yahoo.com
I write simply to ask: Were these stolen instruments ever rcovered? I fear not but I hope so!
I have not heard any news, but I would love to hear some.