Key Facts
• August 9, 2025: Special concert held at Osaka Expo’s Italy Pavilion.
• Event marked 80 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings.
• Featured the ‘Hibaku Violin,’ owned by Russian violinist Sergei Palchikov.
• Palchikov fled Russia in 1922, settled in Hiroshima, and survived the bombing.
• Violin was donated to Hiroshima Jogakuin in 1986 by Palchikov’s daughter.
• Restored in 2012 by a Japanese craftsman in Cremona, Italy.
• Violin symbolizes resilience and conveys a message of hope.
• Played at Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony on the same day.
• Violinist Yasushi Toyoshima performed works by Vivaldi, Paganini, and Vavilov.
• Toyoshima praised the violin’s sound despite its challenging history.
Summary
A special concert at the Osaka Expo’s Italy Pavilion on August 9, 2025, commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. The event featured the ‘Hibaku Violin,’ owned by Russian violinist Sergei Palchikov, who survived the Hiroshima bombing. The violin, restored in 2012 in Cremona, Italy, symbolizes resilience and hope. It was played earlier that day at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony and later by renowned violinist Yasushi Toyoshima, who performed works by Vivaldi, Paganini, and Vavilov. The concert highlighted the violin’s journey and its enduring message of peace.
