By Laurie Niles: Joe Bein announced Monday on Facebook that "after nearly 20 years of being an employee at Bein & Fushi, I...will be leaving to open Bein & Company."![Joe Bein]()
Fine instrument dealer Joe Bein.
Joe Bein is the son of the late Robert Bein, who in 1976 founded the well-known violin shop Bein & Fushi with the late Geoffrey Fushi. The downtown Chicago shop deals in high-end fine violins and stringed instruments and has had many famous clients such as Ruggiero Ricci, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Gidon Kremer, Lynn Harrell, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Nigel Kennedy, and Ko Iwasaki. The shop is also associated with the Stradivari Society, which lends high-end instruments to performing artists.
As their website implies, the two founders had different but complementary skill sets: Robert Bein had a photographic memory that allowed him to identify instruments at a glance, while Geoffrey Fushi was a master at matching musician and instrument. Robert Bein passed away in 2007, and Fushi in 2012.
On Monday, Joe Bein delivered the following statement on Facebook: "I'm leaving Bein & Fushi today to open up Bein & Company. I will finally get an opportunity to carry on my father's legacy and be an owner of a highly trusted and professional rare stringed instrument business."
"After nearly two decades at the forefront of the musical world, with incredible proximity to not only artists but great instruments, I am convinced that now is definitely my time. I want to thank all of the incredible artists, clients, teachers, family, friends who note only inspired me but also encouraged me to walk down this road. I of course also would like to thank the owners and the staff of Bein & Fushi."
"Today, the musical community is facing incredible peril. And so my goal is not only to bring back the expertise, and the trust and the integrity that my father instilled in me, but also do everything I can to help shape the future for classical musicians of every level."
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Fine instrument dealer Joe Bein.