The "General Kyd" is a nickname applied to several Stradivarius instruments crafted by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona and owned for a time by British General Alexander Kyd (d.
The 1714 violin was owned from about 1980 to 1990 by Itzhak Perlman, who made most of his early recordings using this instrument.
[6][7] This cello, currently owned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and played by Robert deMaine, was previously played by Peter Stumpf, and was stolen from Stumpf's porch in 2004.
The General Kyd was later recovered after narrowly escaping being turned into a fancy CD rack.
[8] Robert Cauer, who had been taking care of the cello for 20 years, restored it and gave it back its voice [9]