On April 7 and 8, 2024, the Japanese public TV station NHK made a documentary about the well-known pianist Fuzjko Hemming and her friends in the music world. The programme delved into the journey to discover the origins of F. Liszt’s “La Campanella”, who admired Paganini’s technical ability and stage presence.

Scenes for the documentary were filmed on some Paganini-related places in Genoa, such as the Paganini rooms in Palazzo Tursi, which house the famous violin, as well as the Church and Oratory of San Filippo, with Vasko Vassilev on hand, second place Premio Paganini winner in 1989 and an old friend of Fuzjko Hemming. Enrico De Barbieri and the Director of the Conservatory, Maestro Roberto Tagliamacco, members of the Competition Committee, played the role of guides for the visitors from Japan.

The Documentary was broadcast on 30 May.

Recalling the days of filming, Maestro Roberto Tagliamacco commented:

“The filming of the documentary, made with the participation of Maestro Vasko Vassilev, a violinist of absolute value with whom an interesting conversation took place following the visit of the Paganini rooms in Palazzo Tursi, the viewing of original Paganini documents, as well as the Maestro’s famous violin, aroused a great deal of emotion.

Personally, as a member of the Premio Paganini Committee and Director of the Paganini Conservatory of Genoa, I had the opportunity to share some insights about Paganini’s life, with particular relevance to the city of Genoa as it was in the transition from the 18th to the 19th century, in the years in which Paganini found himself experiencing it first-hand.

Similarly, in the afternoon, other scenes were filmed at the Oratorio San Filippo, home to some concerts held by Paganini at a young age and where Maestro Vasko Vassilev had the opportunity to record, with very high quality, some of the most famous compositions of the Paganinian repertoire.

We hope to be able to continue the friendly relationship with Japan and with Maestro Vasko Vassilev for possible future projects.”

“I was really happy to have contributed to the filming, which took place yesterday at Palazzo Tursi.

The Japanese production, masterfully led by Ms Nakajima, impeccably organised an unforgettable day in memory of the Supreme Violinist, and so I hope that such an experience can be repeated in the future, to honour one of Genoa’s greatest citizens. This is also due to the rebirth of the Premio Paganini competition which, thanks to its President Prof. Giovanni Panebianco, has contributed significantly to a greater diffusion of the Paganini figure around the world. After a long time, it was a great pleasure to once again see the famous Bulgarian violinist Vasko Vassilev, with whom we shared many memories” – Enrico De Barbieri commented.