Carla Shapreau, a scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, has built a career around uncovering the histories of violins and other stringed instruments. Shapreau serves as curator of the Ashley K. Salz Collection of Stringed Instruments in the university’s Department of Music, is a senior fellow with the Institute of European Studies, and lectures at Berkeley Law. Her research has gained international attention, particularly after she identified a 316-year-old Stradivarius violin that had been missing since World War II, an event reported by major outlets including The New York Times, Le Monde, and El País. Documentary filmmakers are now interested in telling the story.
“I am surprised,” said Shapreau about the attention. She has long researched the fate of musical instruments during periods of conflict, including Nazi-era looting, which is also the focus of her current book project.
Shapreau’s journey began as a biology student at Humboldt State University. Hearing a violin performance led her to switch majors to music, after which she learned to play and make violins. Inspired by a book on violin making, she apprenticed with a violin maker in Oregon, left college to become a full-time luthier, then later completed her degree and attended law school. Since joining UC Berkeley in 2007, Shapreau has specialized in intellectual, art, and cultural property law.
Her relationship with the Salz Collection began in the 1970s as a visiting violin maker. She maintained and restored instruments for two decades before becoming curator in 2015. Her responsibilities include examination, conservation, documentation, and public engagement with the collection.
The Salz Collection was donated to UC Berkeley between 1955 and 1957 by collector Ansley Salz and his wife Helen. Over time, it has grown through further donations and now includes about 50 antique violins and violas as well as bows made by noted makers such as Grancino, Gagliano, Lupot, Villaume, and Amati. The collection is primarily for educational use by students and remains within the university’s Morrison and Hertz halls. Students can play and study these rare instruments as part of their musical education.
“Students have a rare opportunity to experience and understand many facets of these instruments,” said Shapreau.
Sophomore Momoka Yanagisawa is among those benefiting from the collection. After a recommendation from an instructor, Yanagisawa was invited by Shapreau to try several violins from the collection. She chose an 1834 Pressenda violin for its tone and now uses it for her performances as assistant concertmaster of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. “My teacher always says that the violin is going to tell you whenever something’s not working,” said Yanagisawa. “If you play it naturally, it is going to blossom and tell you what to do. It’s like talking to someone — if you try to control what they say, they’ll stop speaking. You need to let the violin be free and let it sing in its more natural state.”
Shapreau adjusted the instrument for Yanagisawa’s comfort. The Pressenda’s versatility has impressed Yanagisawa as she prepares for an upcoming concerto audition.
Shapreau emphasizes that learning about these instruments’ makers and histories gives insight into broader social, political, and cultural developments. “What’s so important about so many of these instruments is that the histories they come with are multilayered — and from that, we can learn a lot,” she said. “They bring so many worlds into focus for us, from historical to current.”
One notable instrument in the collection is a viola from 1620 by the Amati family of Cremona, Italy. Its provenance traces back to the Mendelssohn family of Berlin; it was removed from Germany during World War II and eventually donated to UC Berkeley in 1971 in honor of Professor Albert Elkus. “The maker’s spirit and all those who came after are forever a part of these instruments,” said Shapreau.
The collection also attracts international musicians. In March, Sergey Malov visited from Berlin to view a rare viola pomposa built in 1731 by Johann Christian Hoffmann, an associate of J.S. Bach. “It’s the earliest dated instrument of this type by the maker that exists today — it may be that Bach played it,” said Shapreau. Although restoration is needed before it can be played again, Malov expressed interest in returning for a performance once repairs are complete.
Shapreau sees her stewardship of the collection as a continuation of her lifelong dedication to music history and education. “Each of these objects came from the efforts of the maker who created something that others enjoy and benefit from,” said Shapreau. “Throughout the histories of these instruments, some of which have survived several wars and transfers from nation to nation, the maker’s spirit and all those who came after are forever a part of the instrument.
“I think that informs the sense of why these objects matter so much, in addition to their sonic and aesthetic beauty.”
