A three-day festival dedicated to the work of the great violin maker Antonio Stradivari and the impressive sound of his instruments will take place from June 25th to 27th 2010 in the InterContinental Hotel Düsseldorf. The Festival will start with an exhibition of rare examples of Stradivari’s work.

              Anton Rubinstein Akademie in cooperation with Florian Leonhard Fine Violins will present an exhibition of out-of-the-ordinary, old and extremely valuable string instruments.    

              They will be shown in individual glass cases in order to be clearly visible from all sides. Among these string instruments there will be at least one made by the most famous violin maker in the history of music: Antonio Stradivari.  

              The opening night will also feature an extraordinary event entitled “The Stradivari Hour”. A unique opportunity for all violin enthusiasts to hold, examine and even play all those Strads and del Gesu’s.  

             In addition Rodolfo Angilletta, a member of the Anton Rubinstein Akademie Association and a violin maker from Düsseldorf, will present several bows and instruments from his workshop, which interested string players will be able to try for themselves.     

            Düsseldorf-born Florian Leonhard, who has been engaged in recent years in informing investors about the opportunities for attractive acquisitions of string instruments, will give a talk on this subject.  

            The lecture is aimed primarily at investors from companies, but also at private investors who have a direct interest in buying high-class string instruments.             The Festival will also feature the 1st Bergonzi Violin competition for young musicians. The winners will be given two valuable italian violins (a Carlo Bergonzi and a Paolo Castello) for a specified period as a prize. At the same time numerous concerts will be given by the best young violinists from Essen, Cologne and Düsseldorf, the Folkwang Music School in Essen, and the Pre-College in Cologne.  

            Professors Ida Bieler and Alexander Kramarov have been also invited in order to give a master class and a special concert.    

           The festival closing Soirée, on Sunday the 27th will include a concert by the violinist Mincho Minchev playing with his “Baron Wittgestein” Stradivari which was made by the grand master in 1716.

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