$600,000 Violin left in NYC Taxi-Cab Returned to Korean Prodigy

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed)
Aug 25th 2009 at 6:01PM

"My Baby!" That's what acclaimed violinist Hahn-Bin reportedly exclaimed upon have his prized possession returned. The 22-year-old Korean musician was returning to his Chinatown apartment in Manhattan from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and apparently left the 18th-century instrument, reportedly worth some $600,000, in the cab, along with his credit card. Hahn-Bin returned home, took a shower, and then realized what had happened. He called the taxi company, who used GPS tracking devices to locate the cab in which he rode, called the driver and woke him up to confirm that the instrument was in his possession. The violin was then returned to its owner, who is now preparing for his debut at Carnegie Hall in October.

Believe it or not, that's not even the most valuable instrument ever left in a New York yellow cab. Not by a long shot. In 2001, cellist Lynn Harrell left a $4 million, 328-year-old Stradivarius in her cab, two years after Yo-Yo Ma left his $2.5 million, 266-year-old cello in a cab as well. Like Hahn-Bin, their instruments were returned to them, and they probably never left them out of their sight again.

Tags: carnegie hall, CarnegieHall, hahn-bin, lincoln center, LincolnCenter, violin