He is set to perform on an instrument that once belonged to Niccolo Paganini, the legendary Italian violinist and composer.
Dubbed "Sivori," the instrument was made in 1834 by Paganini’s friend Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. Paganini played it for seven years before presenting it to his favourite student, Camillo Sivori, who left it in his will to the city of Genoa.
The Sivori violin is currently part of the collection of the Musei Di Genova.
Brodsky, who is a long-time resident of Rome, is due to play the instrument at Warsaw’s National Opera on Thursday, February 24, and at the Kraków Philharmonic Hall in southern Poland on February 26.
The idea for the concerts came as a result of a meeting between the Italian ambassador to Poland, Aldo Amati, and the mayor of Genoa.
The instrument will be brought to Warsaw by plane on Tuesday afternoon and will be kept under strict security, with the soloist allowed access to it solely during rehearsals and concerts.
During both concerts, Brodsky will perform Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major. The programme of the Warsaw concert also includes a selection of overtures and choruses from operas by Italian composers Rossini, Verdi, Puccini and Mascagni performed by Warsaw's National Opera Orchestra and Chorus under Patrick Fournillier.
The director of the National Opera, Waldemar Dąbrowski, described the event as "a grand feast of Italian music and a manifestation of Polish-Italian friendship."
Brodsky is the winner of several prestigious violin competitions, including the 1977 Wieniawski Competition in Poznań, western Poland, the 1984 Paganini Competition in Genoa, and the 1984 Tibor Varga Competition in Sion, Switzerland.
(mk/gs)