Paganini Quartet
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The Paganini Quartet is a collection of four stringed instruments made by luthier Antonio Stradivari.
During the 19th century the instruments were acquired and played by the violin virtuoso Paganini, after whom the collection is named. Paganini bought this 1731 Stradivarius viola after performing numerous concerts in England. He earned £6000 for these concerts. With the money, he bought the viola. He even considered giving up the violin for the viola, but after commissioning Berlioz to write a piece for viola, he gave it up, complaining that there were too many rests for the viola solo, (even though the piece was a whole symphony, Harold in Italy). He finally kept the instrument and used it as part of the famous Paganini quartet, which is now played by the Tokyo String Quartet. They are currently owned by the Nippon Music Foundation. Since acquiring the collection in 1995, the foundation has loaned them to the Tokyo String Quartet. Prior to 1995 they were owned by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
See also:
- Stradivarius (includes a list of Stradivari’s instruments)
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