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Alexandru Tomescu si Turneul Stradivarius 2014

Alexandru Tomescu si Turneul Stradivarius 2013 – “Bach to Basics”

After a National Competition organized in 2007 by the Romanian Ministry of Culture and Patrimoine, Alexandru Tomescu gained the right to play the Stradivarius Elder-Voicu violin built in 1702 for a five year term. The violin was played for four decades by Maestro Ion Voicu and is considered to be one of the best preserved Stradivarius instruments. The violin was bought in 1956 by the Romanian Government for Ion Voicu for the estimated price of 70.000 Swiss francs. In 2007 the instrument was evaluated at the sum of 1,2 million dollars and was included in the « Antonio Stradivari » catalogue, printed in a limited edition of 2000 copies with cardboard covers and 100 with leather binds. The catalogue reproduces the instruments on a 1/1 scale. The original name of the violin is “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1702” and since its discovery it was in the custody of A. W. Lukens (New York), W.E. Hill & Sons, Charles F. Edler (Frankfurt), Hamma & Co. (Stuttgart), Henry Werro (Berna) and of course, the great Romanian violinist Ion Voicu. When Alexandru was granted the right to play this violin, he promised that during the five years, its sound will be heard by all Romanians. He thus started organizing the National Stradivarius Tour which presented each year another programme, including syncretic performances combining difficult repertories like Paganini’s Caprices or Ysaÿe’s Sonatas with short movies and non-verbal theatre (http://www.alexandrutomescu.com)
As a partner of the event (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014), Bonte Foundation supported not only a gifted artist but a manifesto of exhilaration and expression of universal emotion.