“It was particularly exciting to get to Stradivarius House and visit the place where Antonio Stradivari lived and worked. And it was special to bring back here after so many years legendary Stradivarius Kreutzer 1727. Casa Stradivari is a visionary project, connects past and future. I believe the work he carries out by bringing together musicians and young luthiers is very important”, thus Maxim VengerovBetween the most beloved violinists in the worldwho has been in Cremona in recent days, guest of Casa Stradivari artistic residency project. With him the violin that belonged to Rudolph Kreutzer, the instrument with which he enchants audiences all over the world and which has returned to the house-atelier where the extraordinary story of the greatest luthier of all time began.
Vengerov was welcomed by the artistic director of the Casa Stradivari Foundation Fabrizio von Arxby the president Antonio Gambardella and the founding member Vincent Bernasconi. In the residence restored and relaunched in recent months with an artistic and educational project, it has met the very young apprentice luthiers who are following the advanced training course organized by the Foundation and tested the violins made by them in the same spaces where Stradivari had created his first workshop.
As part of the artistic residency project, the Maestro was the protagonist of two events promoted by the Casa Stradivari Foundation at the Giovanni Arvedi Auditorium of the Violin Museum of Cremona. In the morning the meeting took place masterclasses aimed at the three winners of the competition announced by the Foundation: the young violinists Luca Alberto Kaufman, Martina Cicciò and Letizia Gullino they were followed by master Vengerov in a three-hour lesson, open to the public, which was attended by over 200 people.
In the afternoon, however, the meeting was held panel discussion – moderated by Oreste Bossini– on “The resonances of Stradivari”in which Vengerov was confronted with Fausto Cacciatoricurator of the Violin Museum Collections, Robert Brewer Youngluthier and professor of philosophy at the European Graduate School of Oxford University, So-Ock Kimviolin professor at the Royal Academy of Music, Steven Smithdirector of J&A Beare and Fabrizio von Arx.
“It is an honor to host Maestro Vengerov at Casa Stradivari. His meeting with our luthier students and young musicians fully represents the spirit of our project and the objectives we set ourselves: to create a precious dialogue between musicians, artisans and students which is of fundamental importance for a path of artistic and professional growth . That dialogue that Stradivari himself sought and nurtured. We continue in this direction to give our contribution in valorising the art of Cremonese violin making, an intangible asset of humanity, recognized by UNESCO”, declared Fabrizio von Arx, artistic director of the Casa Stradivari Foundation.
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