Tokyo String Quartet will open Yerevan Perspectives 13th International Music Festival to kick off in Armenian capital April 3, 2012.

The Tokyo String Quartet will play on "the Paganini Quartet," a collection of renowned Stradivarius instruments named after legendary virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, who acquired and played them during the 19th century.

The instruments have been on loan to the quartet from the Nippon Music Foundation since 1995, when they were purchased from the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Tokyo String Quartet was formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music. The Quartet won First Prizes at the Coleman Competition, the Munich Competition and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, which resulted in a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon.

They won the Grand Prix du Disque Montreux, "Best Chamber Music Recording of the Year" awards from both Stereo Review and Gramophone magazines, and seven Grammy nominations.