Four Million Dollar Taxi Ride

Posted Feb 24, 2009 at 03:17 PM in Classical, Band Information, Behind The Scenes

We have all probably had the sinking feeling when we realize that we have left something precious behind in a restaurant, taxi or hotel room. Imagine how you would feel watching a taxicab pull away with something worth $4 million dollars still inside it.

That was exactly what happened to Philippe (pronounced "Philip") Quint, the Grammy-nominated violinist who will play at Britt this summer on August 14.

Last April, Quint was returning home to New York City from Dallas, where he had performed with a 1723 Antonio Stradivari "Ex-Kiesewetter" violin that had been loaned to him. After unloading his luggage from the cab, Quint turned to retrieve the 285 year-old instrument. All he saw was the taxi's retreating tail lights pulling away from the curb, with the violin still inside.

Unable to get the cab's license number, the panicked 34-year-old musician called the police and the taxi commission before heading back to the Newark Airport-where his plane landed and his ride began-to view taxi mug shots with authorities.

The taxi that he had rode in was a minivan, a clue that narrowed his search to just eight possible cabs. The next day, the driver was identified and contacted. Mohammed Khalil immediately looked inside his taxi, which had been parked overnight on a Newark street, and found the four million dollar Strad inside.

It was only six hours from when he lost the violin to when he got it back, but Philippe Quint said in a media interview that it felt like six years.

When the taxi driver returned the violin to him, Quint pulled out his wallet and gave Mohammed all the money he had in it, which ended up to total about $100. But when Quint finally returned home with the violin in hand, he started thinking about what would be the best way to reward him for what he had done. He thought the best way was to give a part of himself, which is his music.

On May 7, as a way to thank the taxi driver, he gave a performance at the Newark Liberty International Airport's taxicab holding area. He played for a half an hour, playing five selections. The cabbies clapped and whistled and danced in the aisles.

The city of Newark awarded a Medallion (its highest honor) to Mohammed Khalil, who has driven a taxi there since 1985. As he had planned for months, Khalil retired from driving a cab the day he took Philippe Quint home.

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