“Happy, relieved and grateful
,” MingHuan Xu and his family took to Facebook to thank the Chicago police for finding their stolen instruments in May.
Of great value, the violin of the artist, concert performer and teacher at Roosevelt University, as well as the bow were found in perfect condition.
“Like losing a family member”
On the night of May 11-12, while sleeping at her Chicago home, MingHuan Xu had her son's cello and two violins stolen, an Oliver Radke from the late 1990s and a Nicolò Gagliano from 1758, estimated at more than 200,000 dollars, which had been loaned to her and with which she had been playing for 20 years.
“Losing that violin is like losing a family member.
It's like losing my own voice
, she then told the Associated Press.
It is irreplaceable and I am thinking of all the stories that this violin has lived through, of all the musicians and violinists who have played it before me.
My heart is broken !
»
But when she thought she would never find her instrument, MingHuan Xu received a call on Tuesday, June 14, from the Chicago police asking her to come
"identify three instruments found"
, reports
Radio Classique
.
Traveling to Washington for a chamber music festival, the artist took to the road, at night, to find his instruments.
“My three instruments were returned in excellent condition
,” she told
NBC 5
, adding that her son hugged his cello when it was returned to him.
As a thank you, MingHuan Xu invited the police officers who worked on this case to attend one of his concerts at St. James Cathedral in Chicago.