Capital 95.8FM journalist, Tee Cheng Ying, made a visit to GPA Holdings to find out more about antique string instrument loans in Singapore. Speaking to Dr. Wilson Goh, from GPA Holdings and China-born cellist, Ms. Lu Bing Xia, the radio journalist found out that each instrument is different and that they are very much “alive”!

 

As Dr. Goh and Bing Xia explains, each instrument has a different sound and finding the right instrument that matches a musician’s playing style is very important. Indeed, the right instrument can make a good musician sound even better.

 

Cheng Ying also found out more about these antique string instruments in Singapore and how most professional musicians who cannot afford to own a hundred-thousand dollar instrument are looking to private companies like GPA Holdings to loan one.

 

 

In the case of Bing Xia and GPA, such an arrangement is good for both musician and holding company. Dr. Goh believes that if these instruments are not played and left alone in display shelves/cases, they “fall asleep”. Thus, putting these instruments in the hands of talented musicians like Bing Xia, can help to keep the instrument alive. Dr. Goh is an avid violin player himself, having played in many concerts, the most recent being Camerata Singapore's 'Jewels of the Bygone Era' at Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel.

 

 

For Bing Xia, the loan of these instruments give musicians like herself the opportunity to enjoy and play to an even greater potential by having an instrument that responds and accentuates her playing style. Compared to a factory-made instrument, it is definitely a good arrangement to have the opportunity to play on an instrument like the Zimmerman cello.

 

 

GPA Holdings’ 1844 Zimmerman cello is currently on loan to Ms. Lu. On 31 July 2009, Bing Xia and the Zimmerman cello will be flying to London and Amsterdam for a string of masterclasses and performances. More of that to come!

 

The Zimmerman cello is the second instrument Ms. Lu has loaned from GPA Holdings – the first being the 1780 Guadagnini cello.