The article reports that Antonio Stradivari's original house and workshop in Cremona, Italy, has been transformed into a learning center and pilgrimage site for luthiers and musicians. It notes that the Stradivarius workshop was moved and demolished on the ground floor, that two work benches were installed for apprentices, and highlights the terrace where violins were dried in sunlight, contributing to the varnish color.
Gyehee Kim (South Korea) won first prize in the violin division with a $130,000 cash award; the Grand Prix is $100,000 with a $30,000 Gold Medal, plus prize tiers for 2nd to 6th places. Violin prizes awarded to Ravil Islyamov, Chaowen Luo, Daniil Kogan, Elena Tarosyan, Yiying Jiang, Michael Usov, and Inna Yakusheva; cello prizes awarded to Lee Youngeun, Zaitseva Maria, Park Sanghyeok, Sendetckii Ivan, Lee Dongyeol, Stepanov Vasily, Yeeun Kang, and Danila Vladyko.
The article covers the 2023 winners of the Mirecourt International Violin and Bow Making Competition, held July 6–9, 2023, in Mirecourt. It lists winners in both the bow-making and instrument-making categories across violin, viola, cello, double bass, and related prizes, noting several repeat prize recipients.
The piece discusses Berchtesgaden and the Berghof, including Hitler’s Berghof and the Eagle's Nest, and notes an extraordinary local fact about Cremonese violin making: about one violin per 1,000 inhabitants, suggesting Cremona would have around 70 instruments by Stradivari, Amati or Guarneri del Gesù. It references Allied interest after 1945 in uncovering secrets potentially hidden in these structures, including the violin case as part of the wider narrative about the area and its treasures.
The article reports the 2023 winners in the Mirecourt International Violin and Bow Making Competition as announced by Związek Polskich Artystów Lutników (ZPAL). It lists winners in instrument-making categories for violin, viola, cello, and double bass, as well as winners in bow-making categories, including Paweł Kubacka receiving First Prize for violin and Second Prize for viola, and Piotr Pielaszek receiving the Special Luthier Prize.
The page reports the results of the Mirecourt International Violin and Bow Making Competition 2023. Paweł Kubacka won the First Prize in the violin category and the Second Prize in the viola category; Piotr Pielaszek won the Special Luthier Prize. The page lists winners for violin, viola, cello, and double bass across instrument-making and bow-making categories, with additional prizes such as the Vatelot Foundation Prize and Special Musician Prize.
The North Bennet Street School Violin Making & Repair alumni Justin Hess won a double gold medal at the Violin Society of America competition in Anaheim, 2022, for his violin, with NBSS graduates Evan Davenport, Peter Bingen, Edwin Halloran, Christopher White, and Andrew Ryan also earning awards for various instruments. The article highlights the breadth of NBSS alumni achievements at the largest violin-making competition, noting the event’s return in 2022 with over 430 instruments from more than 20 countries.
David Garrett, renowned violinist, will give a concert in Bucharest at Arenelor Romane on August 18, starting at 20:00, playing a Guarneri del Gesù violin valued at 3.5 million euros. The article also notes his reinterpretations of classical works and mentions collaborators Franck van der Heijden and Rogier van Wegberg, as well as Romanian piece Hora Staccato by Grigoraş Dinicu.
David Garrett brings his EUR 3.5 million Guarneri del Gesù violin to Bucharest for a concert at the Roman Arenas on August 18, as part of the ICONIC 2023 tour.
The article reports that the Stradivari violin, made in 1730 by Antonio Stradivari, was allegedly attempted to be illegally exported from Ukraine via a passenger bus. The incident occurred at the Palanka-Mayaки-Udobne border crossing on the Odesa region, where border guards found a bag with the instrument; the owner did not respond, and the case was sent for examination with the court to determine the instrument’s fate. It also notes a previous similar attempt in spring involving a 1742 Stradivari violin.
Sophia Alexandra Hall reports that the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec received a violin bow made from a cancer patient Karine’s hair. The bow, named the Bow of Hope, debuted with concertmaster Catherine Dallaire on the one-year anniversary of guest conductor Bramwell Tovey’s death, and the event raised funds for the Quebec Cancer Foundation.