Cremona da New Jersey

Evelyn and Herbert Axelrod could have given the 30 rare Cremonese string instruments they owned to the Vienna Philharmonic (which reportedly offered $55 million for the lot). Or they could have sold them to the New York Philharmonic, which also came a’calling. Instead they gave them to the tiny New Jersey Symphony for the bargain-basement price of $18 million. It’s a remarkable thing to do…