Nippon Violin Special Prize for the First Prize Laureate of the Competition – Violin by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1727
Violin by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1727
This exceptional violin by Antonio Stradivari, made in Cremona in 1727, has a distinguished history of ownership and performance.
By 1960, the violin had entered a private collection in New York, where it subsequently remained within the same family. Around 2006, it was acquired by New York-based Japanese violinist Nobu Wakabayashi, Third Prize Winner at the 9th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition (1986), who owned and performed on the instrument until 2016.
In 2016, the violin entered the private collection of Hiroko Yoshida in Japan. From 2021 to 2025, it was played by Fuminori Shinozaki of the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
In 2025, Nippon Violin acquired the instrument from the collection of Hiroko Yoshida, and it has since formed part of Nippon Violin’s collection.
Nippon Violin is honored to provide this historic Stradivari on a two-year loan to the First Prize Winner of the 17th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition, supporting the winner at an important new stage of their international career.
Nobu Wakabayashi (August 30, 1957 – June 8, 2016)
Japanese violinist Nobu Wakabayashi graduated from the Music High School Attached to the Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts, as well as the university’s undergraduate and postgraduate programs, before continuing her studies at The Juilliard School. In 1995, she earned her doctorate with the dissertation Devils That Appear in Music.
Her major competition achievements include First Prize at the International Artists Competition in New York (1986), Third Prize and special awards (including the Poznań Philharmonic Award for best orchestral collaboration, as well as Henryk Szeryng and Wanda Wiłkomirska awards) at the 9th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition (1986), as well as awards at the Montreal International Musical Competition.
Following her highly praised 1987 debut recital at Carnegie Hall — acclaimed by The New York Times — she performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician across the USA, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, China, and South Korea.
Her debut album featuring the complete Brahms Violin Sonatas (Pickwick) was named “CD of the Week” by The Daily Telegraph. For West German Broadcasting (WDR), she recorded a 2-CD set of Charles Ives’ Complete Works for Violin and Piano (ARTE NOVA Classics). She also gained widespread acclaim for her educational music programs on NHK Radio and TV.
As an educator, she taught master classes at the Madrid International Festival, the Nara International Academy, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival. She studied violin with Dorothy DeLay, Emanuel Vardi, Yoshio Unno, and Chikashi Tanaka; chamber music with Felix Galimir and Joseph Fuchs; and music theory with Michael White and Robert French.
