The exhibition “Violin beyond borders: Stradivari in Rijeka- Kresnik and Cremona”, was opened on December 6th 2019 at the Maritime and History museum of the Croatian Littoral Rijeka, European Capital of Culture 2020, that promoted the exhibition in collaboration with the Museo del Violino, Cremona.
Starting from Franjo Kresnik, who lived both in Rijeka (Fiume) and Cremona, this exhibition focuses on the creative work and the search of this citizen of the world, whose 150° birth’s anniversary is observed this year, and also remembers the years that preceded the opening of the Violin making school of Cremona and the Stradivarian celebrations in 1937. The exhibition explores the violin as an element that connected people despite the political conflict of the past in this specific area.
Not only instruments made by Franjo Kresnik are on display, but also violins Cremonese violinmakers, such as Carlo Schiavi and Peter Tatar, who had close contact with Kresnik, and four violins chosen among the winning instruments of the violinmaking competition that took place in 1937: two violins respectively by Igino Sderci and Gaetano Sgarabotto, a viola by Ferdinando Garimberti and a cello by Vincenzo Cavani. The exhibition includes also documents and letters from those years, interesting documents from the Istituto Luce, that were already located in the Museo del Violino
Are also displayed two very important instruments from two of the best Cremonese violinmakers, whom Kresnik was inspired by in his work as violinmaker and whom he talked about in his writings: the violin “Prince Doria” by Guarneri del Gesù, 1734 and the violin “Lam ex Scotland University” by Antonio Stradivari, made in the same year.
For the opening of the exhibition, there was a concert for violin and harp. Maestro Marco Bronzi played the violin Stradivari “Lam” 1734. Gianluca Galimberti, Mayor of Cremona, and President of the Fondazione Museo del Violino, Virginia Villa, General Director of the Museo del Violino, Paolo Bodini, President of the friends of Stradivari network, Fausto Cacciatori, Curator of the Collections of the Museo del Violino and the owner of the Stradivari violin, Mrs Eva Lam.
