Video: What it means to play a Stradivarius violin Oxford University music graduate Cecilia Stinton had the privilege of playing the 1666 Stradivarius violin known as the "Serdet." The instrument is currently on display at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, as part of an exhibition looking at the legendary string instruments created by Antonio Stradivari. Ms Stinton was contributing to The Telegraph's Stradivarius audio quiz, playing a £39.99 Windsor violin (available from Tesco and Argos), her own 18th century Stradivarius replica, and the Serdet Stradivarius. Readers must guess which instrument is which, based purely on the sound each produces. When you play the Serdet it gives this incredible clarity of sound, which is unlike any other instrument I've played before. It offers it so freely, it's easy to tap into and then it just sings. Occasions to play really, really fabulous instruments only happen very rarely, unless you're a top, top professional player. "It's probably a once in a lifetime experience," she says. The Serdet is the oldest violin in existence to bear the label of Stradivari, and is of great historical interest to scholars. On the label, Stradivari identifies himself as a pupil of Nicoló Amati, considered by many to be the most important violin maker in Europe until the arrival of Stradivari.