Friday July 31st at 8 p.m. Paganini Prize Concert featuring Rino Yoshimoto, violin, and Sergei Redkin, piano

On Friday 31 July, the Paganini Prize returns to Villa San Michele, home to the Honorary Consulate of Sweden and the museum dedicated to Axel Munthe. It is a place emblematic of the Grand Tour, which established Italy at the heart of the world’s intellectual imagination, and therefore an ideal setting to welcome one of Genoa’s most prestigious musical institutions and a leading name in the international violin world.

The concert will feature Japanese violinist Rino Yoshimoto, second-prize winner at the 58th edition of the competition, in a duo with Russian pianist Sergei Redkin, an award-winning performer with a distinguished international career.

The programme opens with Paganini’s celebrated variations on Di tanti palpiti, followed by a cornerstone of the German Romantic repertoire, Robert Schumann’s Sonata No. 2 in D minor. The melancholy folk lyricism of Londonderry Air, shaped by the elegant hand of Fritz Kreisler, will then give way to Edward Elgar’s witty and salon-inspired La Capricieuse. The evening concludes with Niccolò Paganini’s La Campanella, a dazzling example of the virtuosity and elegance of the Genoese genius.

“The collaboration between Villa San Michele and the Paganini Prize,” says Kristina Kappelin, “enriches the musical life of our cultural institution with the freshness and extraordinary talent of these young prizewinners. I am deeply grateful to President Giovanni Panebianco and Artistic Director Nicola Bruzzo for choosing us as partners, thereby strengthening Villa San Michele’s identity as Capri’s most elevated cultural stage. At the same time, this partnership carries forward the legacy of our founder, Axel Munthe, who wished to build bridges between the cultures of northern and southern Europe.”

President of the Paganini Prize Giovanni Panebianco adds: “The return of the Paganini Prize to Villa San Michele bears witness to the strength of a collaboration which, thanks to a multi-year agreement, looks confidently towards the future. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Superintendent Kristina Kappelin, who, also in her role as a Paganini Ambassador, believed in the value of this shared journey from the outset. With expertise, sensitivity and extraordinary dedication, she has helped strengthen the bond between our institutions. We are proud to share our project with an organisation of such high international standing: a meeting place for cultures and a privileged space for dialogue through art. This is the spirit behind Paganini Abroad, the initiative through which the Prize brings its identity to major cultural institutions around the world, helping to promote Italian musical excellence and the name of Genoa on the international stage.”

“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the entire staff of Villa San Michele for the professionalism, generosity and enthusiasm with which they have welcomed the Paganini Prize once again this year,” says Nicola Bruzzo, Artistic Director of the Paganini Prize. “We are especially pleased to introduce the Anacapri audience to artists such as Rino Yoshimoto and Sergei Redkin, performers who perfectly embody the Prize’s international spirit and the artistic standard we aim to promote. Through Paganini Abroad, we wish to share the vision guiding the Prize’s evolution.”

Rino Yoshimoto

Twenty-three-year-old Japanese violinist Rino Yoshimoto has rapidly emerged as one of the most promising talents of her generation. She has performed in prestigious international venues including Carnegie Hall in New York and the Musikverein in Vienna, and maintains an active concert career across Europe and Asia. A winner of numerous international competitions, she was awarded Second Prize at the 58th Paganini Prize in 2025, having also distinguished herself at the Fritz Kreisler Competition and the Isang Yun Competition. Trained in Vienna and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, she plays the 1736 “Muntz” Stradivari, on loan from the Sasakawa Music Foundation.

Sergei Redkin

Born in Krasnoyarsk in 1991, Sergei Redkin is regarded as one of the leading pianists of his generation. A prizewinner at major international competitions, including the Maj Lind International Piano Competition, he was awarded Second Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and the Bronze Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He performs regularly with leading international orchestras and in venues including the Musikverein in Vienna and the Philharmonie de Paris, as well as at the Verbier and Lucerne festivals. Since 2017, he has been Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, alongside a busy concert and recording career.

Reservations are recommended. Tickets (€20; €10 reduced price for young people and students) can be purchased at the box office from 30 minutes before the concert. Visitors travelling from Naples can return on the last ferry service. For information: tel. +39 081 837 1401 · www.villasanmichele.eu