Chamber Music Matinee Julia Fischer
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Sonatina in G for Violin and Piano, Op. 100
BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3, H 303
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42, Méditation for violin and piano
PABLO DE SARASATE Caprice sur Roméo et Juliette, Op. 5, for violin and piano
End of concert approx 13:00.
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According to Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, love itself helped to write Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, and the composer Charles Gounod transformed this most famous of all love stories into an opera with truly French esprit and sentiment. Ever since the Paris première in 1867, it has moved, indeed gripped audiences all over the world, and also found an ardent admirer in the Spanish violinist and composer Pablo de Sarasate. With Spanish ardour, Sarasate’s Caprice sur Roméo et Juliette follows in the footsteps of the pair of lovers traced by Charles Gounod, expressing both their burgeoning infatuation and Juliet’s exuberance and joie de vivre in the waltz entitled “Je veux vivre”. And of course, the piece also showcases the legendary virtuosity of the “diabolical violinist.” Sarasate usually chose operas as the basis of the works he composed to perform himself – besides Gounod’s Roméo, also Bizet’s Carmen, Weber’s Freischütz or Mozart’s Magic Flute – which enabled his audiences to experience these composers’ most famous “hits” in the concert hall. At the same time, he was not afraid of using his instrument to compete with the human voice – by truly making his violin sing.