One of the most promising Japanese violinists, Sayaka Shoji, will team up with one of the leading orchestras in Russia – the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra – to record several scores by Dmitry Shostakovich.
The 28-year-old virtuoso will perform on the 1729 Stradivarius. The instrument once belonged to Napoleon, as well as one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, Mischa Elman.
The debut recording of the Japanese violin player and the Ural orchestra is due to take three days to accomplish.
It has been reportedly commissioned by the artistic director of the La Folle Journée, the so-called Crazy Days festival, in Nantes, and owner of the Mirare label, René Martin.
Head of the orchestra, Dmitry Liss, was quoted as saying that the Russian-Japanese album will be distributed at festivals in France and Japan, and sold across the world starting from next February.