Violin teacher ‘was stringing me along’

A world-class musician who allegedly short-changed a ‘desperate’ former pupil in a dispute over an £80,000 violin is facing a county court battle next March. Professor Mateja Marinkovic had agreed to pay his pupil Ruzica West £40,000 for the 18th century violin, which was given to her by her grandmother at the start of her career. Prof Marinkovic ultimately paid her £26,000 for the instrument and also gave her a French violin of his own that he had valued at…