On a Wing and a Prayer

"Please, send remarkable talent," prayed jurist Itzhak Rashkovsky before the 2nd annual Moscow Paganini Violin Competition. Prayers were answered. Rashkovsky pronounced the event, which concluded with a December 1 concert in the Bolshoi Theater, "Outstanding, by all standards. Moscow is very lucky to have so many talents in one competition!"

First prize went to Kwun Hyuk-ju of South Korea (shown at right). "First-class control and understanding," remarks Rashkovsy in a phone interview from London, of Kwun's performance of the Vieuxtemps Concerto No. 5. "A very special talent."

No second prize was awarded, but Yekaterina Frolova and British violinist James Lee shared third place. Frolova played the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in "typical Russian style." Lee displayed a "special temperament" in his first-ever competition, performing the Sibelius Concerto.

A special grand prix—the right to play a Stradivarius from the State Collection of Unique Musical Instruments for one year—was awarded to Alyona Bayeva, already a much-decorated Russian competitor. She chose the Shostakovich Concerto No.1 for the final round, a piece Rashkovsky describes as, "deeply philosophical, requiring physical and emotional stamina."

The Paganini Competition is a privately funded project of the Art of the Violin Foundation, established in 2002 by attorney and violinist Maxim Viktorov to support all aspects of violin art in Russia. Among its many projects are competitions, concerts, acquisition, and restoration of fine instruments for performers, scholarly research, and publication. The Foundation represents a recent influx of private support for the arts in Russia.

—Erin Shrader

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of Andrea Amati, the Cremonese founder of the famous Italian violin-making dynasty spanning four generations. Amati and his sons are regarded as the founders of the modern violin, establishing the sizes and proportions used today. To commemorate the anniversary, the Amati Ensemble will perform a gala concert. All the stringed instruments used at the concert—including the violins, violas, cellos, and double basses—will be original instruments made by the Amati family throughout the centuries. It is believed this will be the first time so many Amatis will be played at one concert, including a chamber orchestra. The premiere will take place on March 6 at the Municipal Theater of Maastricht in the Netherlands. The Amati Ensemble hosts a popular chamber music series in that city and violinist Gil Sharon, founder of the ensemble, is first concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra of Maastricht.

World Apart No More

Technology and a unique cross-cultural music-education program helped bridge the gap in December for string students separated by 7,300 miles and two seemingly very different worlds. Global Encounters, presented by the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, connected 400 New York City teens with 200 of their counterparts in New Delhi, India, in a distance-learning event that is part of Carnegie Hall's effort to enhance its education programs with the new technological and multimedia capabilities of its third stage at Zankel Hall. The program—which showcased classical and folk music from India and bluegrass and brass-band jazz from the United States—featured musical performances interspersed with video segments introducing the geography and culture of the regions as well as a Q&A session between musicians and students. Among the transglobal performers were 16-year-old Tyler Andal (shown above), a sophomore at Middle Tennessee State University, and 13-year-old Indian classical violinist Ambi Subramanian, son of famed Indian violin virtuoso L. Subramanian. For a finale, students in both countries joined together for a rendition of "Sweet Georgia Brown."

Like Minds

When Steve Wilson, the veteran bassist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, died last May, he left behind a half-dozen small-scale basses that are now part of his legacy. The Wilson family recently donated the collection to the American String Teachers Association with National School Orchestra Association String Project at Lawrence University's Academy of Music and the Appleton (Wisc.) Area School District. "The program has been most successful not only in the training of string teachers," says bass instructor and Lyric Opera bassist Gregory B. Sarchet, "but also in providing an opportunity for young people interested in playing a stringed instrument whose school does not have a string program or who are home-schooled."

Strength in Numbers

The Kansas City Symphony has agreed to team up with two other arts organizations—the Kansas City Ballet and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City—signing a long-term lease in November and promising to share a proposed $304 million downtown performing arts center. Thus far, the center reportedly has raised $198 million toward its goal. Upon completion, the center will include a 1,400-seat symphony hall and a 2,200-seat opera hall. Recent letters of intent, provided so the state of Missouri could offer generous tax deductions to help raise $50 million toward the project, state that the symphony will use the hall for 122 days each year. The center is expected to open in 2008.

Peace & Pontarelli

Rock violinist Antonio Pontarelli (shown above),13, has won PAX-TV's America's Most Talented Kids contest. When he's not playing an electric Viper violin, Pontarelli is the concertmaster of the San Diego Youth Symphony Symphonic Orchestra. He has been playing violin since age four.

Skill Set

April 1 is the deadline to register for the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis' fourth annual Orchestral Audition Workshop for Violinists, held June 10–13 in Indianapolis. Led by David Kim, the workshop accepts a dozen active participants and 14 auditors. For details on the competition, visit www.violin.org.