Romanian Ambassador to South Korea Calin Fabian hosted a concert and reception celebrating Great Union Day, his country’s national day, in Seoul on Tuesday.

The highlight of the event was a concert by renowned violinist Alexandru Tomescu, who performed a solo on a Stradivarius violin that belongs to the Romanian government.

The violin belonged to Ion Voicu, a well-known Romanian violinist and conductor, and his family donated it to the Romanian government. Some Stradivari ― violins, cellos and other stringed instruments ― have been valued at millions of dollars.

The name Stradivarius is associated with violins built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to many, the quality of their sound defies explanation and is impossible to reproduce, a claim also disputed by some experts.

Still, the name “Stradivarius” has become a superlative for excellence: calling something “the Stradivari” of its field means that it is the best.

A Stradivarius owned by acclaimed South Korean musician Min-Jin Kym was stolen in 2010 while she was eating lunch at a metro station in London. It was recovered by police this year in July.

Fabian said that he wanted to underscore Romania’s rich heritage of creativity and artistic achievement in this year’s National Day reception, as well as bilateral cooperation in the arts between South Korea and Romania.

The Romanian diplomat began his posting in South Korea in March 2012. Following his country’s democratic revolution in 1989, South Korea and Romania established diplomatic relations in March 1990.

(ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)