Virginia’s Richmond Symphony Orchestra in performance.
In Thursday’s (8/29) Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia), Chelsea Jackson writes, “The Richmond Symphony is kicking off its new season with Strad Fest, a four-day celebration of the world’s finest instruments. Audiences will have the opportunity to see nine legendary Stradivarius violins, handcrafted between 1685-1725 by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari, and centuries of musical history from Sept. 12-15. Violinist Itzhak Perlman will perform at Strad Fest … on Sept. 14-15. ‘Strad Fest is a celebration, a four-day immersion into Stradivari’s world,’ Valentina Peleggi, music director of the Richmond Symphony, said. ‘Listening to a 250-year-old Stradivari violin live is always an event. But at Strad Fest, our audience will be able to listen to nine different Strads at once. You can listen to their unique voices: each one has a different name and is traveling from a different part of the world just to come to Richmond.’. There will also be recitals, chamber music, a chamber orchestra, a symphonic orchestra, and workshops with an Italian violin maker… ‘We are very excited that the 16-time Grammy Award-winning violinist Itzhak Perlman will also take part in the festival with his own Strad,’ Peleggi added.”
