Paganini | Bach | Chamber

Virtuoso caprices, Op. 1 by Niccolò Paganini constitute a real challenge for all violin players. Of course, the most famous is Caprice No. 24 – repeatedly elaborated as a subject of variations by other composers. During the concert performed by a young violinist, however, we will hear a less popular one, Caprice No. 20, in which virtuosos struggle with the multi-voice technique.

The Violin Concerto in G minor Op. 26 by Max Bruch was created in 1866-1868 for an outstanding violinist of those times, Joseph Joachim, who was responsible for the world premiere performance of this piece. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the piece was one of the most frequently performed violin concertos, and currently remains one of the most famous orchestral works by Bruch. The program will feature two movements in a version for a violin and accompaniment of a piano. The first movement, maintained in the form of a fantasy, begins with a slow introduction, which turns into a correct sonata form. The second movement is an elegiac aria – a show of the musicality of the soloist.

The introduction and rondo capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28 by Camille Saint-Saëns was dedicated to another outstanding violin virtuoso – Pablo Sarasata. A short, calm although already technically demanding Introduction is a harbinger of the full temperament of the proper movement, based on syncopated dance rhythms close to Hungarian music.