Pierre Amoyal (born 22 June 1949 in Paris) is a French violinist and is the artistic director of the Conservatory of Lausanne. He owns the "Kochanski" Stradivarius of 1717. It was stolen from him in 1987 and recovered in 1991. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, graduating at age 12 with a First Prize (in 1961). He then won the Ginette Neveu Prize in 1963, and the Paganini Prize in 1964. At age 17, he traveled to Los Angeles for five years of study with Jascha Heifetz, which culminated i ...