Patricija Avšič with a Figueroa Stradivari violin Photo: Janez Marolt
A young musician with a violin that is more than three centuries old
The barely 17-year-old Slovenian violinist Patricija Avšič is currently playing one of the most valuable violins in the world, a Stradivari violin called the Figueroa, which was made in 1686 in Cremona by the legendary musical instrument maker Antonio Stradivari. Connoisseurs describe the more than three-hundred-year-old violin with “rare beauty of tone and deep sound clarity”.
Stradivarius violin Figueroa carries a special historical weight. In the 20th century, among others, it was played by a renowned Puerto Rican violinist Pepito Figueroa. The latter wanted to buy the instrument when it was being sold in New York, but he could not afford it. When this was published in the newspaper, the people of Puerto Rico raised funds and bought him a violin in recognition of his artistic contribution. After the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017, which caused great damage and a humanitarian crisis, the Figueroa family decided to sell the instrument, with the proceeds going to help the people of Puerto Rico.
A talented violinist
Today, the violin is in the hands of a talented Slovenian violinist Patricije Avšičwho has proven herself several times as an exceptional soloist with orchestras; as a soloist, she will perform again with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra this Thursday and Friday in Cankarjev dom as part of the FKK 6 subscription: For young people, part 2, in Concerto for violin and orchestra in D minor (note 47) composer Jean Sibelius.
The violin was lent to her by the Berlin organization Stretton Society, which cooperates only with extremely talented young musicians. Patricija Avšič experiences the violin more strongly than just a musical instrument. “Playing this instrument is a great honor and responsibility for me, but at the same time a deeply personal artistic experience. I experience the violin as a partner in artistic expression that requires complete concentration, dedication and a deep understanding of music.” According to her, the sound of the violin encourages her to listen more closely, to explore new colors and to have a deeper understanding of music.
Father of a young violinist Matej Avšičwho is also an academic violinist and professor of violin, emphasized that it is an unusual and rare case that “goes beyond the usual artistic successes and contributes significantly to the recognition of Slovenia in the field of classical music”.
From dreams to world stages
The story also has a symbolic dimension. A poster of Stradivari’s violin has hung in the home music room since Patricia’s childhood. As a little girl, she often watched him, without suspecting that one day she would play the very violin of this famous master. “In this interweaving of past and present lies the story of a dream come true. Not as a coincidence, but as a result of dedication, persistence and gradual artistic growth,” her father is still convinced.
Patricija Avšič started playing the violin at the age of five under the tutelage of her father, and at the age of eight she performed for the first time as a soloist with a symphony orchestra. In recent years, she has achieved a series of international successes, among others, she has performed with many orchestras at home and abroad, such as the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also collaborated with big musical names, such as the tenor star Plácido Domingo and a violinist Maxim Vengerov. She also studied with a prominent Russian-Austrian violinist To Boris Kuschnir at Music and Arts Private University of Vienna.
In November 2025, as the youngest, she was selected as the most promising and most noticeable young musician on the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 list. This year, she began working with the Viennese company Thomastik-Infeld as a “testing artist” in the development and optimization of strings.
