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I guess here's one reason why you might be grateful you play the piano.

They're a lot harder to steal. Which means you're less likely to get stun gunned for it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/u...es.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Though if anybody has seen the movie All Is Bright, you'll know that pianos are not immune to theft. Really a terrific denoement as well as a how-to handbook for getting a Steinway B out of an apartment window undetected using only some rope, a socket wrench, and a bunch of books. I warned my friend with his new Steinway B not to be surprised one day if his piano was gone. Paul Giamatti taught me how.

All kidding aside, stories like this make me really sad. I hope Mr. Almond is ok both physically and emotionally from such a wrenching loss.

Are the books for reference or a pulley counterweight?

But seriously folks....it's terrible about the violin. I lived there for a while (Milwaukee), heard the orchestra many times, so it hits home more than it might. I see that most stolen Strads never get recovered?? What could possibly happen to them? You'd figure that the reason people want them is to play them, or to sell them -- and either way, I would have thought it's hard for them to remain secret for very long.

Here's hoping he gets it back.

Violins by Stradavari, Guarneri, de Salo, and Amati are very much sought after as collector's items by the super-rich, many of whom don't even play them. That's also true to an extent for cellos and violas by the big names -- less so, fortunately (I say as a bassist) for basses.

As a result, the prices are higher than even the most successful touring soloists can afford. Most Strads (etc.) in the hands of performers are on loan or lease (often induced by tax considerations) from wealthy collectors.

The point is, I suspect there are ethically challenged gazillionaires who just want to *have* a Strad -- not to play it or sell it. People like that may be willing to buy from thieves, or even to commission a targeted theft. They don't plan ever to put the instruments back into the market.

The same happens with paintings, some of which are stolen every year and disappear from the public eye forever (or until the crooked buyer dies, at which time the heirs are usually surprised).

I admit I did not expect this story to have a happy ending, given the statistics, but the good news is that the violin has been recovered, and the police officers responsible for its recovery were treated to a private Bach recital on it.