Violin virtuoso and Frost School of Music Professor Charles Castleman was starting his career in 1963, when the 21-year-old artist played a borrowed Stradivarius violin in the renowned Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, one of the most prestigious in the world. Though he didn’t win the gold medal, he was one of the contest's top laureates. More importantly, he made a powerful impression on the judges, giving him a strong start to a storied career.
“It was enormously significant,” Castleman says. “The jury was comprised of very famous soloists, all of whom kind of adopted me on the basis of that competition.”
This fall, sixty-plus years later, Castleman returned to Brussels to donate his very own Stradivarius to the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, the home of the competition, which fosters emerging classical musicians with an artist-in-residence program, conservatory, and concert series.
His 1707 violin, which the Chapel has named the “Charles Castleman” Stradivarius, will be used by one of Castleman’s former longtime students, Miclen Laipang, an artist-in-residence at the Chapel with a thriving European career.
“It’s an honor, and I’m thrilled,” Castleman says.
During his November visit, he taught a masterclass and had lunch with Belgium’s King Albert II. “He was a real hoot – he was really fun,” says Castleman of the monarch and their three-hour lunch. He also spent a day with Princess Marie-Esméralda, a writer and activist whom Castleman called “fascinating” and the “conscience of the royal family.”
Castleman’s visit and donation were big news in Belgium, filmed for a documentary, featured on Belgian television and in Strad Magazine, the classical string world publication.
Photo: © Mégane F-Photography
“This exceptional 317-year-old violin – which has served generations of musicians over the centuries – now comes to the Music Chapel and will guide future generations of our young talented musicians,” said Gregor Chapelle, CEO of the Chapel. “We are immensely grateful to Charles Castleman and honor his decision to support us in continuing the dream of Queen Elisabeth.”
Why is Castleman giving away a $7.5 million violin, one of just a few hundred in the world made by the instrument’s most renowned craftsman? At 83, he is thinking about his legacy and paying forward the gifts of an extraordinary career. He was a child prodigy who made his solo recital debuts at major halls in Boston and New York at age nine. Castleman became famous performing frequently on television on the likes of the Ed Sullivan and Jackie Gleason shows, including a 1951 appearance with Frank Sinatra available on YouTube. He earned degrees from Harvard, Curtis, and the University of Pennsylvania; performed as a soloist with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Boston, Brisbane, Chicago, Hong Kong, Moscow, Mexico City, New York, San Francisco, Seoul and Shanghai; and has taught master classes worldwide.
In 2019, Castleman donated a $1 million Guadagnini violin to the Frost School, where he began teaching in 2014. In 2023, he made a bequest to establish a music scholarship in his name here. He wanted his Stradivarius – which he says he thinks of as a living thing – to have an active musical life. (He mostly prefers to perform on his treasured Goffriller violin. “Everything about it enhances everything about my playing,” he says.)
“I owe it to the Strad to ensure its future,” he says. “It’s a great instrument that should be playing a lot of concerts.” Laipang, a concertmaster with important European orchestras, will perform on it frequently through 2027. After that, it will be used by future competition winners as part of the Charles Castleman Prize. (If Castleman ever wants to use the Stradivarius for a performance in the next three years, the donation agreement stipulates that the Music Chapel will deliver it to him.)
“It has an unmistakable sound, and it’s best for competitions or playing solo with orchestra,” says Castleman. “If you’re coming to a concert to hear a violin player, the Strad is more commanding.”
His childhood renown and life at the highest echelons of music have made Castleman comfortable with fame. He recalls spending an afternoon with then-Senator John F. Kennedy of Castleman’s home state of Massachusetts when he was 11. “I was playing a concert in Washington,” Castleman remembers. “One of his secretaries lived on our block at home, and we went to see her. She said, “The senator is free; would you like to meet him?” He took me to the shooting gallery to watch the FBI do target practice and on the subway. Years later, when I went to Harvard, he sent me a congratulatory letter.”
On his trip to Belgium, Castleman, an avid biker who often rides to work at the Frost School, was proud and pleased at having taken two 40-mile bike trips. “The Belgians made sure someone was always biking with me,” he says. “I don’t think they were worried that I wouldn’t be able to complete the ride but that I’d get lost.”
