The Osmium Violin presented in Belgrade

Do you know that the Osmium Violin is the most precious violin in the world?
During its World Tour, the violin came to Belgrade owing to the Novak Djokovic Foundation.

This amazing event was held on 18/11/2023, but first, let me tell you something more about this masterpiece.

 

The story about the Osmium violin

During the covid lockdown in 2020, two friends were talking with a glass of wine in their hands, in the Austrian town of Graz.
These were DI Kurt Assam and Karl Grosschadl. Kurt, the owner of the company Osmium Art, wanted to decorate one musical instrument. He told his idea to Karl, who remembered his friend from high school. It was Edgar E. Russ, a violin maker. So, Karl came to Cremona to visit Edgar, and this is how the unique violin was created.

 

 

Edgar E. Russ, a violin maker

The Osmium Violin was made by Edgar E. Russ, a distinguished violin maker.
He made more than 2,000 violins and other musical instruments, such as violas, cellos, bows, and double basses.

But the most famous violin he made in 2012 was the one for His Majesty, Sultan of Oman, Bin Said Quaboos. A confidential agreement was signed about the price and owner. When the Sultan of Oman died in 2020, his violin was officially presented and transferred to the Museum in Oman.

“When we, Edgar Russ, Karl Großschädl and I, started our project “The Osmium Violin” in 2020,
our goal was to create something unique, something the world had never seen before.
Something that people would enjoy”.
DI Kurt Assam

Well, I have to say that I was very happy and honoured to have an opportunity to meet these fantastic guys in Belgrade 🙂

 

Some interesting facts about the violin

The Osmium Violin is a wonderful masterpiece of craftsmanship, jewellery and luxury.

♦ The project started in July 2020 in Cremona, Italy, and it took 32 months of work to be finished.
◊ The body length is 13.98 inches, the total length is 23,43 inches, and it weighs 1,30 pounds.

 

♦ Special types of wood were used for the violin body. Actually, the front part was made of Italian hazel spruce from Val dì Fiemme (South Tyrol), about 25-30 years old. The back, neck and ribs were made of flamed Bosnian sycamore maple, about 20 years old.
◊ The 30-year-old best ebony from Cameroon was used for the fingerboard, upper and lower saddle.
♦ The varnish was applied by hand and it is very specific. It is a mix of linseed oil, amber, and iron oxide pigments, kept in special conditions for years to get a nice brown colour.

 

◊ The violin is decorated with 541 inlays of custom-made crystalline Osmium, the rarest precious metal in the world.
♦ Beside the osmium, there are 298 pieces of diamonds and high-quality rubies, sapphires and tsavorites. All  Osmium pieces and precious stones are set in 18-carat gold into the wood by hand.

👉 If you would like to know more about sparkling Osmium, you can read here.

 

The Osmium Violin on the World Tour

The world premiere of the new Osmium violin was held on 30th March 2023 at the headquarters of the Austrian Post in Vienna. The famous violinist Elena Denisova was the first one who play this amazing violin.
By the way, the main logistic partner of the World Tour is Post Systemlogistic from Vienna.

 

Then, the violin was presented on 7th June at the National Theatre in Maribor. The event was organized by Alen Senekovič, the director of the Osmium Institute Slovenia. Various young artists took part, and the Slovenian violinist Oksana Pečeny played the Osmium violin.

 

During its World Tour, the violin was presented at various fairs and concerts

• 17 – 22, June, “Wörthersee Classics” with Elena Denisova, Klagenfurt, Austria.
• 09-17, September – Exhibition & concert with Mimi Scofiled/Jackson Hole/USA.
• 22-24, September: largest musical instrument fair “Mondomusica”, Cremona/Italy.
• 29. September – 01st October: “INTERGEM“, largest gemstone & precious metal fair in the world, Idar Oberstein, Germany.
  

  Osmium Violin, Intergem Fair, Germany, Scarlet Clauss, Vice president of the Osmium-Insitute Germany, photo  ©Osmium Art

   

• 4-10, October: Seoul’s largest trade fair in South Korea.
  

  Osmium Violin in South Korea, photo by ©Osmium Art

   

• 16.10: Jennifer Gheorghita concert & CD presentation at Jacques Lemans, Burg Taggenbrunn, Austria
  

  Jenny Gheorghita with violin, photo by Claus Comelli

   

• 26th October: “Brand Marken Gala”, Frankfurt, Germany.

And among 17 planned world destinations, the violin came to Belgrade!

 

The Osmium Violin in Belgrade

Well, we are all familiar with Novak Djoković, the world’s number one tennis player.
So Novak and his wife Jelena founded “The Novak Djokovic Foundation” which helps children through many projects regarding their education and development.

 

To support prominent cultural values and works from Serbia and the world, the Foundation hosted the Osmium Violin in Belgrade on 18/11/2023. The event was held in the beautiful building of “Geozavod” with a selected number of guests and media.

Jelena Djokovic, the Global Director of the Foundation welcomed the guests. She expressed the Foundation’s satisfaction regarding the organization of this important event for the promotion of outstanding cultural values that inspire and encourage creativity throughout all generations.

 

Edgar E. Russ talked about how he started making unique and precious instruments.

 

Also, he said: “I thank Novak and Jelena Djokovic for making this wonderful evening dedicated to the instrument I made possible. Making a violin is an extremely complex process, but when you have an instrument like this in your hands, then every effort pays off”.

The founders and other owners, DI Kurt Assam and Karl Großschädl, were also present. But they remained in the background and took turns chatting with Jelena Djokovic, Maja Kremić, Miljan Lazetić, and Alex Grubin from the foundation, as well as with Stefen Milenković.

 

The concert of Stefan Milenković

Stefan Milenković, the Serbian and world-famous violinist, played the Osmium violin.

“It gives me great pleasure to be a part of this event and to share the same mission with the “Novak Djokovic Foundation”, which is to work with young people and provide assistance to provide them with good conditions to develop as well as possible. I try to light up this planet through music, through the violin, through art”, said Stefan Milenković before the event.

 

Stefan was curious about how it would be possible to play the violin because it was decorated with osmium, the densest metal in the world.

“Instruments like these are rare, and it is even rarer that artists have the opportunity to try an instrument like this. I thought it would be impossible to play this instrument. But now I see that this is a successful combination of the great tradition of violin building, but also of jewellery and engineering” said Milenković.

 

It was a fantastic experience to listen to the Osmium Violin, especially when Stefan played “Carmen” by George Bizet, accompanied by pianist Hilda Svan. The amazing sound of the violin and Stefan’s playing touched the hearts of everyone in the hall.

 

Five young and most talented violinists, Adrijana Durmišević, Teofil Milenković, Olivera Mitrović, Lana Zorjan and Sofija Glavičić also took part in the event. They performed Telemann’s “Concert in D-major”, and together with Stefan, they played Vivaldijev’s “Concert for four violins in B-Minor.

 

The language of music is universal, and full of emotions.
It can make you cry, but it can also make you happy.

 

 

The price of a violin

Probably you are wondering how much this violin costs.

Well, the price of this most precious new violin in the world is more than 10 million EUR.
If you would like to make a serious offer, please contact DI Kurt Assam at +43 676 4042040 or by email: office@osmium-violin.com. 

By the way, the most valuable violin sold in the world was Giuseppe Guarneri’s 1741 Vieuxtemps violin. The price was estimated at $16 million. This violin got its name from its most famous owner, the Belgian virtuoso Henry Vieuxtemps. The name of today’s owner is a secret, but it made the violin available to American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers for a lifetime.

The violin with osmium travels around the world

After Belgrade’s promotion, the Osmium Violin is on the road again.
New places are waiting for it, such as Monaco, Melbourne, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, and many others.

 

Also, there is a new project “Osmium Art Quartet“. It will consist of instruments such as the Osmium Violin 2.0, the Osmium Cello, and the Osmium Viola. You can follow the website Osmium Violin and find out new information about the violin.

 

Until the next promotion, take a look at a video from the event and
listen to the magic sound of the Osmium Violine.