Library of Congress photographer Shawn Miller captured this stunning photograph of 10 Stradivari instruments – and Italy’s esteemed Quartetto di Cremona – during a special “Strad Shoot” in the Great Hall of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building on May 11. The occasion was a prelude to a concert that evening by the Quartetto, co-presented by the Library, the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington, D.C.
The Quartetto performs regularly on four beautiful instruments made by Antonio Stradivari – the “Paganini Quartet,” named for virtuoso violinist Niccolo Paganini, who once owned them. The concert offered a unique opportunity to bring the Paganinis together with the Library’s six priceless Strads, for a record-setting display of the great maker’s art.
