On Tuesday, the Violin Art Foundation, a Moscow-based organization, bought a rare violin that was owned by famed 19th century violinist Nicolo Paganini. The violin was auctioned off by Sotheby's in London and fetched a price just short of one million dollars.

Winners of the foundation's annual prestigious violin competition will have the privelige of playing the violin for a year. The violin dates from about 1720, one of only about 50 violins still in existence made by Carlo Bergonzi, considered to be one of the greatest violin craftsmen along with Antonio Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu.

The violin was one of 20 passed down to Paganini's son, Achille, upon his death in 1840. The auction price for the violin is a new record for a Bergonzi instrument.