300-year-old violin to star at UK classical music festival

One of the most valuable violins in the world, crafted three centuries ago and once owned by composer Niccolo Paganini, is to be played at a top UK classical music festival.

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The violin, known as the Carrodus, is one of only around 150 made by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu known to have survived down the centuries, and was acquired by a philanthropic group for $20 million in June. It was crafted in 1743 in Cremonia, northern Italy, and will be played for the first time as part of the BBC Proms by South Korean violinist Inmo Yang.

The violin once owned by Italian virtuoso Paganini will be seen on August 28 at London's Royal Albert Hall.

"I can't believe how lucky I am to have this instrument. This is easily one of the greatest instruments ever made," Yang, who is also making his debut at the Proms, told AFP. "I feel a duty to take good care of the instrument and make a beautiful sound, so that people know that it's worth playing these instruments rather than having them in a vault in a museum."

The Stretton Society, a network of philanthropists, patrons and sponsors that has loaned the violin to Yang, seeks to acquire rare and valuable instruments to lend to the world’s leading musicians.