Paganini Stradivari Gala | 2 October, Palazzo Ducale

On 2 October at 6:30 p.m., the Paganini Stradivari Gala will take place in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio at Palazzo Ducale, marking the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Japan. This prestigious event is organised in collaboration with the Sasakawa Music Foundation, with the support of the Municipality of Genoa and the Nippon Foundation, and under the patronage of the Embassy of Japan in Italy and the Italy-Japan Foundation.

The project is part of the Municipality of Genoa’s “Ottobre Paganini” festival and will serve as its official opening event. Bringing together internationally renowned performers and historic instruments, the Gala features musicians closely connected with the history of Genoa’s Paganini Competition. The project will subsequently continue in Cremona and Siena with concerts organised by the Museo del Violino and the Accademia Chigiana.

Alongside the musicians of the acclaimed Goldmund Quartet, comprising Pinchas Adt, Florian Schötz, Christoph Vandory and Raphael Paratore, and distinguished soloists Benjamin Beilman, Rino Yoshimoto, Timothy Chooi, Reiko Watanabe and Nikki Chooi, with Roberto Arosio at the piano, audiences from Genoa and beyond will have the opportunity to hear true masterpieces of Italian violin making. These include the 1714 Stradivari “Dolphin”, the 1722 “Jupiter”, the 1736 “Muntz”, and the 1740 Guarneri del Gesù “Ysaÿe”, once owned by the great Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe.

On 2 October, the Sala del Maggior Consiglio at Palazzo Ducale will host a unique gala distinguished by its repertoire, the excellence of its soloists, and the historical and artistic rarity of the instruments being played. Admission is free, subject to advance booking.

The event will be attended by the Ambassador of Japan to Italy, Hikariko Ono, the President of the Italy-Japan Foundation, Umberto Vattani, and the Chairman of the Sasakawa Music Foundation, Tamio Kano. They will be welcomed by the Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Genoa, Giacomo Montanari, and the President of the Paganini Competition, Giovanni Panebianco.

The musical programme, devised by Nicola Bruzzo, Director of the Paganini Competition, has been conceived to showcase both the diversity of the performers and the extraordinary quality of the instruments made available to them by the Sasakawa Music Foundation. It brings together a particularly fascinating variety of repertoire and chamber ensembles: from Grażyna Bacewicz’s rarely performed Quartet for Four Violins to Brahms’s Rondo alla Zingarese, from Shostakovich’s Five Pieces to a selection from Bartók’s 44 Duos for Two Violins, culminating in the Finale of Britten’s Simple Symphony.

Free admission with advance booking at this link.

Musical Programme

2 October, Palazzo Ducale, 6:30 p.m.

Antonín Dvořák
String Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op. 106 – I. Allegro

Goldmund Quartet

Grażyna Bacewicz
Quartet for Four Violins

Benjamin Beilman, 1st violin
Rino Yoshimoto, 2nd violin
Timothy Chooi, 3rd violin
Reiko Watanabe, 4th violin

Johannes Brahms
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 – IV. Rondo alla Zingarese. Presto

Timothy Chooi, violin
Christoph Vandory, viola
Raphael Paratore, cello
Roberto Arosio, piano

Dmitri Shostakovich
Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano

Timothy Chooi, 1st violin
Nikki Chooi, 2nd violin
Roberto Arosio, piano

Charles Dancla
Le Carnaval de Venise, Fantasy for Four Violins, Op. 119

Reiko Watanabe, 1st violin
Rino Yoshimoto, 2nd violin
Benjamin Beilman, 3rd violin
Nikki Chooi, 4th violin

Béla Bartók
Selection from “44 Duos for Two Violins”, Sz. 98

No. 1 – Parosito: Rino Yoshimoto, 1st violin; Benjamin Beilman, 2nd violin
No. 16 – Burleszk: Nikki Chooi, 1st violin; Pinchas Adt, 2nd violin
No. 23 – Mennyasszonybúcsútató: Timothy Chooi, 1st violin; Rino Yoshimoto, 2nd violin
No. 36 – Szól a Duda: Florian Schötz, 1st violin; Nikki Chooi, 2nd violin
No. 42 – Arab Dal: Benjamin Beilman, 1st violin; Reiko Watanabe, 2nd violin
No. 43 – Pizzicato: Pinchas Adt, 1st violin; Florian Schötz, 2nd violin
No. 44 – Erdélyi Tánc: Reiko Watanabe, 1st violin; Timothy Chooi, 2nd violin

Benjamin Britten
Simple Symphony, Op. 4 – IV. Frolicsome Finale

Florian Schötz, Reiko Watanabe, Benjamin Beilman, Nikki Chooi, 1st violins
Pinchas Adt, Rino Yoshimoto, Timothy Chooi, 2nd violins
Christoph Vandory, viola
Raphael Paratore, cello