A million dollar “Red Mendelssohn” Stradivarius violin from the year 1720 premiered at Stuyvesant High School on Wednesday, January 14. After being lost for nearly 200 years, its current owner, violin virtuoso Elizabeth Pitcairn, played a never-before-performed live suite—a composition of the 17th or 18th century with recurring patterns in particular keys—from the acclaimed 1999 movie “The Red Violin.” The composition, which she will also perform at the World Financial Center, is based on the history of the Stradivarius violin.

Pitcairn performed “It Ain’t Necessarily So” from George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess” (1935), and a different piece from the film about the wife of the violin maker who was humming to her unborn child. This slow and somber lullaby captured Pitcairn’s skills and presented the product of her 30 years of rigorous training.

The audience was clearly impressed. The bow zipped along the violin at such a high speed that it was difficult to distinguish where one note began and another finished. It sounded as if she was playing multiple octaves at the same time. “I thought it was really inspiring, like the violin is so old but she can still play it so well,” freshman Karen Chan said.

The carefully crafted violin was made in 1720 by Antonio Stradivarius, a well known violin maker, in a small shop in Cremona, Italy. After its creation, it disappeared for 200 years and eventually resurfaced in Berlin during the 1930s. There, it was purchased by the descendents of Felix Mendelssohn. The violin was among the family’s collection of other stringed instruments which included two other violins, a viola and a cello, which they used to form their own living room quintet.

The most recent owner of this violin, Pitcairn, received the instrument when she was a senior in high school. A native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Pitcairn began playing when she was three and a half years old. Under the guidance of her mother, a Julliard graduate, she first performed a public concerto at the age of 14. She later attended the University of Southern California where she studied with esteemed violin professors. Given to her by her grandfather, the violin was purchased from a British auction house, Christie’s of London, for 1.7 million dollars.

Estimated to be worth between five to10 million dollars, the Red Violin is one of the most expensive violins in the world. Its secret lies in the long-lost techniques that the Cremonians of Italy used to make their violins. “What’s interesting about this instrument is the process that Stradivarius used to craft it and to varnish it is still a mystery, and many of today’s instrument makers are still trying to duplicate what he did back then,” said Gary Fagin, the Music Director of the Bucks County Symphony. According to the Washington Post, “Stradivari used alpine spruce during a climatic era of uncommonly cold weather.” This made the wood abnormally dense, and therefore abnormally strong. This allowed Cremona craftsmen to do more with less: Stradivarius violins are up to 20 percent lighter than their modern counterparts. Modern violins’ added weight dampens their sound.

What makes the Red Violin so special is its clarity of sound, ease of execution and great power. Pitcairn attributes its high value to these three factors. She said that if one were to conduct a blind test by having a person identify the sounds of different instruments at the back of a concert hall, the Red Violin’s sound would override those of the other instruments. “Believe it or not, the lesser instruments will get to about the middle of the hall and they’ll become indistinct. You can’t hear them anymore,” Pitcairn said.

Pitcairn now plays with the Knickerbocker Orchestra founded by Fagin. Their first debut concert was held on Saturday, January 17 at the World Financial Center Winter Garden. The performance featured compositions by Bach, Strauss and the musical suite from the film, “The Red Violin.” “This [performing with the esteemed orchestra] is a first experience for me,” Pitcairn said. “And it’s very exciting to be a part of a groundbreaking experience.”

The violin has become her inspiration and companion over the years. “Yes, you say to sell it,” Pitcairn said when she told everyone the value of the Red Violin. “Yes I can have a nice house and have a nice lifestyle, but I’d rather be touring around the world and be here playing in the U.S. It’s my idea of fun.”