The drowsy violinist whose $80,000 instrument was either lost or stolen after he dozed off on the bench of a Brooklyn subway station was playing a happy tune yesterday.
“It’s a miracle,” said Tom Chiu, after getting reunited with his beloved 94-year-old Scarampella violin.
“I got a call from MTA Lost-and-Found last night and they told me to come to Stillwell Avenue to retrieve it.”
Still disbelieving, Chiu asked the transit worker on the phone if there were bow ties and pictures of his wife in the case.
There were.
Chiu, 36, a renowned concert violinist who performs at the floating Bargemusic in Brooklyn, said he would never let his instrument out of his sight again.
“I learned a big lesson,” he told The Post.
“You think Clark Street in Brooklyn Heights – nothing bad would happen there. I love people, but I need to guard my possessions.”
Chiu said there is still the possibility the violin was stolen from him, and the thief abandoned it in favor of the other valuables in his case.
“The zipper is broken on the case and some of my other things are missing,” he said.
As far as the police are concerned, the case is closed, officials said.
Transit officials said it was unclear who recovered the violin and turned it in.
The MTA has no lost and found at Stillwell Avenue – it’s actually at 34th Street and Eighth Avenue.
“We are very glad to have reunited him with his instrument,” NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said.
“We also hope that going forward when he rides the system he takes heed of what we tell our customers, which is to be aware of their surroundings and make sure to safeguard their personal belongings,” he said.
Chiu agreed.
“I feel extremely fortunate,” he said.
“I’m a New Yorker and I have to be watchful when it’s hot, humid and after midnight.”
Chiu, who has been playing this particular Scarampella violin for 13 years, has a doctorate from Juilliard, as well as a chemistry degree from Yale.
He had been dreading the possibility of having to find a new violin.
“For musicians, it takes months and perhaps years to find a new instrument,” he said.
“Much goes into it financially and how it fits you physically.”
Chiu has lived in New York for 14 years, but he said he should have been accustomed to the dangers of city life.
He grew up in Los Angeles.
A founding member of the Flux Quartet, he has performed at Carnegie Hall and on National Public Radio. After recovering his instrument, Chiu said he had little energy left for celebrating the Fourth of July.
“I think I’m just going to catch some sleep,” he said.
Fortunately for Chiu, he doesn’t have another concert for several weeks.