Salvatore Accardo

Salvatore Accardo is an Italian violinist, conductor, teacher, and author, born on September 26, 1941 (Heifetz was 40 years old.) He is best known for his renditions of the works of Nicolo Paganini. Among other schools, he studied at Saint Peter’s Conservatory in Naples and gave his first recital at age 13, playing Paganini’s 24 Caprices. At age 15, he won the Geneva Competition and in 1958 took first prize in the Paganini Competition (Genoa, Italy.) Accardo has been concertizing ever since. He has founded several groups and festivals, including the Accardo Quartet (1992), the Italian Chamber Orchestra (1968), and the Cremona String Festival (1971.) He was the first to record all six of Paganini’s violin concertos and has twice recorded the Caprices. His discography on many different labels is fairly extensive and he has also recorded for film (1989 – Klaus Kinski’s Paganini.) He has conducted extensively as well, both chamber music concerts and operas. Accardo has played the Hart Stradivarius (1727-formerly owned by Zino Francescatti), the Firebird Stradivarius (1718), and an oversized Maggini. In 1987, Accardo wrote a book on violin playing, the Art of the Violin. Dimitri Musafia designed a limited edition violin case specifically for him (the Salvatore Accardo model) in 2006. All proceeds from sales have gone to charity.