NEW YORK – A 311-year-old Stradivarius violin sold for US$11.25 million (S$15 million) at Sotheby’s on Feb 8, in a closely watched auction that drew interest from investors, collectors and classical musicians.

The violin was made by famed Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari in 1714, during the so-called golden period of violin making. It was later owned by one of the greatest violinists of the 19th century, Hungarian-born virtuoso Joseph Joachim, a close associate of Johannes Brahms.

The Stradivarius was sold by the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, which plans to use the proceeds of the sale to endow a student scholarship programme.

The instrument was previously owned by an alumnus of the school, Mr Si-Hon Ma, who died in 2009. His estate donated the instrument to the New England Conservatory in 2015 with a provision that it could one day be sold to finance student scholarships.

“Now we really have the chance to have it benefit so many more students – generations of students to come,” said Ms Andrea Kalyn, president of the conservatory.

Sotheby’s said the buyer wishes to remain anonymous.

Among violins sold publicly at auction, the record is held by the so-called Lady Blunt Stradivarius, once owned by the granddaughter of Lord Byron, which sold in 2011 for US$15.9 million.

The instrument sold on Feb 7 was one of several violins owned by Joachim, who premiered the Brahms violin concerto in 1879.

Ms Simin Ganatra, chair of the strings department at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington, said the connection to Joachim, who was also a composer, was a major selling point.

“For a musician to play the instrument he once played is a magical experience and something you really cannot put a price on,” she said.

The violin that sold on Feb 7 is known as the “Joachim-Ma” Stradivarius.

Rare violins once owned by famed virtuosos, including Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz and Yehudi Menuhin, have sold privately in recent years for up to US$20 million, according to dealers. The instruments they played typically bear their names.

The auction of the Joachim-Ma violin drew substantial news media attention in recent weeks. Sotheby’s called the i...