Hans van Swaay, who played violin as a young boy, was given the Raffaele & Antonio Gagliano 1832 by the widow of his great uncle, Nan Dirk Stam, himself an accomplished violinist.

As he did not follow in his great uncle’s footsteps, the family decided to allow professional young musicians to benefit from the beautiful instrument and started a process of lending it for a period of 5 years.

Following the passing of his parents, Hans van Swaay took over the process in collaboration with renowned violinist Pierre Amoyal who recommended young artists.

Hans van Swaay’s wife, Hazeline, who has been professionally active in the classical music field for the past 16 years and founded the International St Prex Classics festival, has made it her priority to bring her husband’s legacy to life.

St Prex Classics had a Young Talent Program and Hans van Swaay’s wish was to build on his own violin and give more early career artists access to collectible instruments.