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Jeremy Brett on TV 

Mystery and Imagination
The Lost Stradivarius

29 January 1966, Thames/ITV
Role: Sir John Maltravers

This was the first episode in the "Mystery and Imagination" series of supernatural stories. It is an adaptation of a short novel by John Meade Falkner.

From a summary of the novel:

While studying at Oxford, John Maltravers, a talented musician, finds that playing a certain air on his violin brings an invisible guest to his room. The ghostly visits become more frequent, until he eventually sees the figure of a man sitting and listening to his playing. His subsequent discovery of an old Stradivarius violin hidden in a secret cupboard in his room, while improving his skill as a musician, seems to cause a change in his character. As his violin playing becomes an obsession he is drawn away from his old values, his family and even his faith, towards more sinister interests. The tale of the possession of a young man by the restless spirit of an eighteenth century necromancer, "The Lost Stradivarius" is a classic work of supernatural literature. -- Amazon.com

Full text of novel // Reviews of the novel

IMDb page // The Brettish Empire