The Paganini competition in 1968 was the first international competition I participated in. It also marked my first visit to Italy. These two events have remained very vivid in my memory. Winning was, of course, very exciting, but perhaps even more memorable was the opportunity to play on Paganini's violin. I remember the occasion when the violin was taken out of the case and handed to me. I especially cherish the memory of the sound of the instrument, which was the most wondrous of any instrument I had ever played up to that point in my life. I spent several hours practicing on the violin, experimenting with the endless palette of colours, and then performed a few minutes on it during the closing ceremony. The pageantry of that event and the sense that I was somehow connecting with violin history through Paganini's violin remain embedded in my memory. I have returned to play many concerts in Italy since the competition and made many wonderful friends. I doubt that any of this would have happened without the competition. I will be forever grateful for this.