58th International Violin Competition
"Premio Paganini"
They say about the "Cannone"
Natalia Lomeiko
In the first place it was the biggest challenge to come to the Competition. I found it risky and extremely exciting to participate. I was very glad that the audience was very welcoming and supportive. It really helped me to perform as I usually do in concerts.
Winning it was wonderful! I suddenly realised what an honour it was. Playing on Il Cannone twice now, was really fascinating.
This competition has helped me with my career and I'm truly thankful!
But for me however it's just a starting point to a hopefully interesting and long life ahead!
Ilya Gringolts
I do have "certain recollections" about the Premio Paganini. The associations are the following: the roaring buses outside the thoroughly-shut double window frames of my teacher's hotel room (particularly annoying after a 3 hour lesson), red-white furniture of my room at hotel Britannia .... Il Cannone from the hands of Mr. Giordano and a stubborn inner voice repeating: "Drop it, drop it ... drop it and see what happens...", the broken string one minute before my first performance .... I am beginning to realize that few lines cannot be enough and as I am writing now by the window looking straight at Stazione Principe, in Genoa, the impressions and memories that I thought had left unreturnably, find their way back and stay, because this place and that time are on my mind.
Mario Trabucco
"... this instrument is "alive", it participates in your moods, in your feelings. While playing it, the violinist has to be strong and sweet at the same time"
Joshua Bell
"There is no violin in the world that inspires a greater sense of awe than Il Cannone. On November 28th, 2004 I was graciously allowed to play on this unimaginably beautiful instrument. I performed the Ciaccona of Bach (another one of man’s greatest masterpieces, a work written around the time of Il Cannone’s ’birth’), and the Cantabile of Paganini (the legendary possessor of Il Cannone). To play on the instrument of Paganini was a dream come true. The rich sound of its G string and the sweet overtones of its E will forever be in my ear. I sensed that the capabilities of this Guarneri del Gesu were so enormous, its tonal colors so varied, that one could spend a lifetime exploring its possibilities. I am grateful to the City of Genoa for allowing me this magical day."
Yuki Manuela Janke
"... INCREDIBLE!!!!! It has a very fine sound. It has sufficient volume. I could play double armonics in the piece by Paganini without difficulty. I never saw such violin which is nearly perfect! I was really happy to be allowed to play with the "Cannone"
Vadim Repin
"... I have to confess that the name is the real description of this instrument! Its sound is really deep, without weakness but expressively rich and rewarding. We can say it's an animal in perfect health!"
excerpt from "Il Secolo XIX", 31/05/2004, article by W. E. Rosasco
Fabrizio Haim Cipriani
As good Italians, a festive but also noisy and a bit braggart people, we are well attached to his nickname of Cannon! Yet I found the softness and the caressing tone, especially in the high register, impressive, much more than the power. A quality of sound in line with the needs of imitation of the vocality that the pre-romantic treatises of Cambini, Galeazzi, Campagnoli clearly present, in an era in which the overwhelming volume is not yet part of the musical expression. The new eighteenth-century structure of the violin accompanies us in this direction, suggesting, with this round character, more intimate conversations than violent competitions. As the good Zechariah, who 2500 years ago did the thankless profession of a prophet, said: Not with strength, nor with power, but with my spirit
Julia Fischer
Having the opportunity to play Paganini's instrument is certainly every violinist's dream. Considering that this wonderful Guarneri has rarely been played during the past 150 years, its state of preservation is extraordinary. I'm not saying this because the instrument seems to look good (and it certainly does) but because this violin really sounds completely different from any other Guarneri del Gesù. It's as if the sound is new, yet to be discovered. It is an incredible experience to be on stage with this powerful violin, impetuous but also ready to perform whatever the violinist wants to try, offering possibilities that can only be imagined. Playing with this instrument gives great satisfaction. It's just a shame that you have to return it after the concert ...
Giuseppe Gibboni
Per me è stato un grandissimo privilegio suonare un violino storico come il Cannone, è stato davvero emozionante. Ho sentito anche molta responsabilità perché ero consapevole di avere tra le mani un'opera d'arte inestimabile. E' stata una grandissima emozione vedere i segni lasciati sullo strumento da Nicolò Paganini con il quale aveva un rapporto molto fisico.