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Giovanni Francesco Pressenda (1777-1854) was a violinmaker who contributed greatly to the development of Torino, Northern Italy, in the 19th century. 250 years of the Golden Age of Cremonese violin making, established by Andrea Amati, came to an end around about the same time as the industrial revolution; this marked the beginning of Pressenda's reign over the world of violin making.
Pressenda was born in 1777 in a small town called Alba, near Torino, known for wineries and white truffles. His father was a violinist and a luthier, who taught both of these skills to Pressenda. He crafted violins, furniture, and jewelry in the early years, but when he turned 40, he moved to Torino to concentrate on becoming a violinmaker. While his name quickly spread among the violinists who supported him in Northern Italy, he continued to study the works of Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri, and Guadagnini, all of which greatly influenced his truly original works. In the years 1829, 1832, 1838, 1844, and 1855, Pressenda went on to receive the medals at the exhibitions in Torino.
During this period, Stradivari and Guarneri were recognised and respected as the two finest violinmakers and their styles were often copied by violinmakers such as Lupot and Vuillaume from France, Fendt and Voller brothers from the United Kingdom, and Dispine and Rocca (a disciple of Pressenda) from Italy. However, Pressenda was the only maker who never made copies of the masters and only created his own original style, which was frequently copied by Hannibal Fagnola, a Turinese master of violin making in the 20th century.
Violinmakers such as Fagnola and Bisiach flourished the violin making in Torino and Milan in the early 20th century, and by the mid century, the violin making in Cremona was revived by luthiers such as Sacconi and Sgarabotto. Giovanni Francesco Pressenda glorified the Turinese violin making in the 18th century and is indeed one of the finest makers to follow Stradivari and Guarneri.
The violin being introduced here was made in 1830, during Pressenda's Golden Age, and was used by Fumiaki Miura for 5 years around the time he was named the youngest ever winner of the Joseph Joachim Hannover International Violin Competition (2009). This instrument truly represents Pressenda's finest craftsmanship in its form, arching, details, varnish, ground, projection and tonal quality, and is reminiscent of Stradivari's works from his Golden Age known for their strength and brilliance.
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Fumiaki Miura Violinist
Fumiaki Miura is not only the youngest ever winner of the Joseph Joachim Hannover International Violin Competition (2009) but also the one with the most prizes - having also been awarded both the Music Critics' and the Audience Prize. The young Japanese violinist is already proving himself to be one of the most accomplished of his generation.
At only 22 years old, Fumiaki has performed with several of the world's leading orchestras, including NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Wiener KammerOrchester, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and has played under conductors including Kazushi Ono, Pietari Inkinen, Stéphane Denève, Kazuki Yamada, Kristjan Järvi and Rafael Payaré. Notable recent highlights include a tour of Japan with the Prague Philharmonia under the baton of Jakub Hrůša, and a performance of Penderecki's Double Concerto with Julian Rachlin, conducted by the composer himself in his 80th anniversary concert, where Fumiaki played the viola.
Highlights of the 2015/16 season include performances with Warsaw Philharmonic (Eiji Oue), Balears Symphony Orchestra (Alejandro Posada), Tokyo Philharmonic (Andrea Battistoni) and a tour of Japan with Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra (Christopher Warren-Green). Further ahead, he will make his debut with the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa and will return to the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
Last season, Fumiaki debuted with Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia and the Utah and Jacksonville symphony orchestras. He also performed with the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra on their European tour.
Fumiaki has appeared at numerous international music festivals such as Miyazaki International Music, Ravinia, Julian Rachlin and Friends, Schleswig-Holstein Musik, Musique de Menton as well as Menuhin Festival Gstaad. As a chamber musician he has performed with Mischa Maisky, Torleif Thedéen, Pinchas Zukerman and Lawrence Power, and made his Paris recital debuts at the Louvre and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. In March 2016 he will give a chamber music concert in Utrecht.
Fumiaki's debut recording was a disc of both of Prokofiev's Violin Sonatas with Itamar Golan for Sony Japan. Due for release in autumn 2016 on Avex-classics is a recording of Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concertos with Deutsches Symphonie-orchester Berlin and Hannu Lintu.
Miura performs the violin on the J.B. Guadagnini (1748) on loan from Yellow Angel Foundation and the viola on the Storioni school "ex-Julian Rachlin" (1780) on load from Nippon Violin.
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