The Red Violin Page #5

a rebirth.

- And how was your flight?

- Very good. On time.

- Sorry to cut your holiday short, but...

- It's all right. I'm excited, actually.

- Like Christmas.

- Won't take too long.

- We've already assessed them.

- Right. Ballpark.

- And I only want you to confirm it.

- I got it.

- A second opinion.

- I've done this sort of thing before.

Can't wait to see it, actually.

- This is Mr. Morritz, you know...

- Bon jour.

- So, you're the expert?

- From New York.

- You know what you're doing?

- Yes, New York.

- You know what you're doing?

- Why, yes. I certainly hope so.

These people from Duval's

have given us some figures...

as the government of China.

- So, what we need now is...

- A professional opinion.

- No, a signed affidavit.

- That's what I'm here for.

- Show me to the Strad.

- They all look the same to me.

Ah, but they're not.

Please don't let me forget this.

Over there.

Ah, here she is.

It's a beautiful specimen.

I'd say about... 1683.

- Reminds me of the Cobbitt.

- These are the best quality pieces.

Over here, if you'd like

to take a look...

are the less promising entries,

some of them are pretty bad.

- So I see.

- So, I guess I'll leave it to you then.

I've taken care of the luggage.

I have a driver waiting.

All right. I shouldn't be long.

- Bon jour.

- Bon jour, Monsieur Morritz.

- Everything is ready as you asked for.

- Same room as always?

- Same room, but one story down.

- Then it's not the same room, is it?

No, Sir, but it's the same

as the other one.

- Sir, I have a message from your wife.

- Merci.

Room 2.703.

New York City, please.

Carrie? Charles Morritz here.

I have a little gumshoe work for you.

Cremona. Bussotti.

Get a pen.

Made a cast of this

after we set the table.

Swiss.

So, here we are.

Here's the before picture.

Take a look at the corners. Not so bad.

I don't think we have to touch them.

Some really nice perfling here.

Lot of work to get it this far.

Turn-of-the-century hackjob

with some horse glue and a patch...

so I had to reset the neck.

That was the big job.

Sound post, tail piece.

New bridge, of course.

But the body itself is remarkably good,

so I'll strip back some varnish here...

- No, no, no.

- No what?

I told you before.

Don't touch the varnish.

- Well, that's not gonna be easy.

- If there's a problem, I'll do it.

Look, the auction's in two weeks.

I have 16 other instruments.

Leroux is all over my ass. I still have

a Stein I haven't even touched...

I want complete L.I.G.'s,

a resonance test, mass specs...

and let's get some varnish samples

off to the lab, okay?

This instrument is not a priority.

Every minute of my day is full.

That's fine. We'll do this

after hours, all right?

- These are the estimates?

- No, the reserves.

- That we proposed to the Chinese?

- Right.

And what about these?

Those are some contentious items

you might not want to put on the block.

They're badly preserved

and hard to attribute.

- What about that red one?

- Red one?

Leroux seemed to think

it might be a Bussotti.

Yes.

It might be, but the label's obscured

and the varnish is odd...

it's slightly opaque. And I'm afraid

as it stands, with no documentation...

That's all you expect?

"With all my heart".

You ever heard of the Red Violin?

Sure. The Frederick Pope Bussotti?

Sure, I have, stories.

- How about copies?

- One in London, the only one I know of.

Supposed to be a copy

commissioned by Pope.

- You know who has it?

- Some private collection.

You think I could buy it

without tipping them off?

Tipping them off to what?

Well, we know for sure we have a

Bussotti. I can date it within the year.

We still have this varnish

that doesn't configure, but...

but we can run comparison tests and

see if this is the source of the copy.

You know I should probably

tell my employer.

If what you're saying is any way true,

people could get a little... excited.

- I could lose my job over this.

- Yes, I know.

You can go if you want to.

I can finish this myself.

Madame Leroux says that she has

to have the catalog proofs for today.

- Are you finished?

- Yes, they're back at my hotel.

I've been working at night.

Is there something else?

Your wife called again.

Close the door, please.

Yes, is this the University of Montreal?

Well, may I have the

Archaeology department, please?

Hi. This is Charles Morritz

over at Duval's.

I sent you some varnish samples

on Tuesday.

Yeah, I wanted you to

isolate an organic compound.

I'm sorry.

Can I have the manager, please?

Yes, the manager.

Well, fine, put him on.

Yes, this is Mr. Morritz in 2.703.

Listen, I want to make

something absolutely clear.

I don't want anyone coming

to my room. You understand?

Not the maid, not to check the minibar,

no chocolates on the pillow.

I'm giving the staff sort of a break.

Understand?

No one is to come in my room

unless I request it.

Thank you.

- Yes?

- I got it.

It's coming.

I just talked to London.

Well, a little bit of smooth talking,

a little bit more money. Your money.

You better make those phone calls.

Yeah, yeah. Me too.

Well, actually, I had some ideas.

- Wonderful.

- Yes.

I have the recording.

Pretty good Strad, don't you think?

I feel it is a bit tight on the top.

A little bit strangled over the break.

To me it's very clean and precise.

Of course, it would have

to be played by a master.

- What do you guess?

- US$ 1,7... 1,8 million.

- Not bad.

- Trust me on this.

- What else do you have?

- That's about it. Thanks for coming.

I hope you don't have

an orchestra waiting.

Well, they can wait. No problem.

What about this here?

No, not that one.

- Nice little piece.

- But not for you.

- I will try it.

- No, no, no. Don't play it.

- Why not?

- Yes, why not?

I just repaired it. It's still fragile.

I don't even know why it's here.

I'll be very gentle.

Don't worry.

Yes, I see what you mean.

Nothing special.

How's it going?

What do you want me to do

with that one... the Pope copy?

I'll take it back to the hotel with me.

Well, you got your money's worth.

That is a very good copy. Nice violin.

But nothing like this one.

This is the single most perfect

acoustic machine...

I have ever seen.

Amazing.

Guess I never thought I'd find it.

The ultimate... thing, as I see it.

The perfect marriage of

science and beauty.

Impossible thing.

Now what?

What do you do when the thing

you've most wanted, so... perfect...

just comes?

- Do you have children?

- What?

- Children. Do you have any?

- No, but I know what you mean.

I would love to have

this baby for myself.

Really? What would you do?

Take it apart, find out how it works.

Take some Eigenbaud readings

on the individual plates...

- I don't think you get it.

- Yes, I do. Take a look at this.

This is mode 1.06 kHz.

Watch the response curve here.

I'll ease it up slowly for you.

Mode 2...

Stop it!

- Bon jour, Monsieur Morritz.

- Bon jour.

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