An American Pine 8-String Violin with Carved Bear's Head

20th Century

together with a maple/pine Stradivarius reproduction violin with case and no bow.

Property from the Estate of Fred and Estelle Spector, Chicago, Illinois

This lot is located in Chicago.

Fred Spector began violin lessons at the age of five with his uncle J.B. Mazur, concertmaster of the Czar’s Imperial Orchestra in Saint Petersburg. A lifelong Chicagoan, he attended Hyde Park High School and Chicago Musical College.

Fred flew as a U.S. Army bombardier and navigator in Japan during World War II and became the first American violinist to concertize there after the war ended. He returned to Chicago and became concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra, studied conducting with Rudolph Ganz, and later was a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra.

He was a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 47 years (1956 – 2003). He was actually hired into the CSO twice. The first time was in 1948 but the music director was fired shortly after he was hired, and the symphony did not honor any of the contracts of the recently hired musicians. Eight years later he was invited to audition again. At that point, he was conducting Top Banana staring Phil Silvers on Broadway. He chose to return to Chicago to join the symphony and start a family with his wife Estelle.

A chamber music enthusiast, he also performed with numerous ensembles in the Chicago area and was a member of the Chicago Strings, the Chicago Symphony Quartet, and the Chicago Arts Quartet for many years. He was also assistant conductor of the Highland Park Music Theatre.

He was a collector of all violin and string instrument related objects. His vast collections of objects included unique and special violins and figurines. He even invented a violin mute that carries his name.