The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen / Janine Jansen / Paavo Järvi

Beethoven conceived his violin concerto as an alternative to stark virtuoso pieces without acrobatics or cliched melodies. With its epic scale of just under three quarters of an hour and an aura of philosophical profundity, this work has been spellbinding to this day and presents violinists with the highest demands of musical shaping. In expression, the music penetrates very far into the intensity of romantic worlds of emotions and so builds a bridge to the music of Franz Schubert.

In Schubert’s »Unfinished«, at the start of this concert, the composer shifts between contrary worlds of emotions. The first movement propels the expression so far into the realm of despair that the subsequent andante with its celestial visions of happiness seems all the more dreamlike. The »Tragic«, then again, does not skimp on dramatic moments either, but in the fiery finale ultimately brings itself to a cheerful conclusion.