After being forced to donate his Guarnerius to the Library of Congress to settle a tax debt with the United States Internal Revenue Service, Kreisler used the Bergonzi violin as his primary performance instrument for more than ten years near the end of his career.
[2] Fritz Kreisler passed the instrument onto Cuban violinist Angel Reyes who in turn made it available to Itzhak Perlman.
Perlman recorded the Khachaturian Concerto on the Kreisler Bergonzi and on the cover of the album he is pictured holding it.
After Perlman, the violin was played by Ruben Gonzales, who was concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony.
Currently, the Kreisler Bergonzi is owned by Dextra Musica and on loan to Norwegian violinist Guro Kleven Hagen.