Salvatore Accardo

Salvatore Accardo (born September 26, 1941) is an Italian violin virtuoso and conductor. He is highly regarded for his interpretations of Paganini, J. S. Bach, contemporary works, chamber music, and opera conducting. Accardo was born in northern Italy and studied violin in the southern Italian city of Naples in the 1950s. He gave his first professional recital at the age of 13 performing Paganini's Capricci. In 1956 Accardo won the Geneva Competition and in 1958 became the first prize winner of the Paganini Competition in Genoa.