Christian Tetzlaff

Pau Casals International Music Festival
El Vendrell 2025

The violin and its challenges
(FIMPC 2025 – VIII)

Friday, July 18, 2025
8th Concert
Pau Casals Auditorium
El Vendrell

Concert Review

Tetzlaff offered a display of virtuosity with a delightful and demanding program. Christian Tetzlaff is a virtuoso violinist, but his virtuosity serves the music to communicate emotions and feelings; it is not merely a demonstration of technical skill, but a demonstration of musical knowledge and interpretive ability in service to the composer

Christian Tetzlaff


Johann Sebastian Bach(1685 - 1750)
Sonata for solo violin
C major BWV 1005
III - Largo

Shared on YouTube
by HR-Sinfonieorchester - Frankfurt Radio Symphony
September 21, 2024

The concert program

Eugène Ysaÿe (1858 – 1931)
Sonata No. 1 in G minor,
dedicated to Joseph Szigeti (1892 – 1973)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Partita No. 2 ,
in D minor, BWV 1004

György Kurtág (1926)
Sings, Games and Messages

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750))
Sonata No. 3,
in C major, BWV 1005

The heart of the concert: Bach and the influence of Bach

Bach was present throughout the concert, either as a composer or as an object of admiration for the other composers.

Bach is present in​ Eugene Ysaÿe's (1858 – 1931) composition dedicated to Joseph Szigeti (1892 – 1973),a violinist specializing in Bach.
This work is part of a set of six sonatas composed in 1923. Ysayë was passionate about Bach, and it is said that he composed his six sonatas as a mirror of Bach's six sonatas.
It's interesting to note that Bach, in addition to playing the harpsichord, also played the violin. It was Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788) who explained this to Johann Nikolaus Forkel[*] (1749–1818) in a letter. You can read it on the LA Phil’s website.

"In his youth, and until the approach of old age, he played the violin cleanly and penetratingly, and thus kept the orchestra in better order than he could have done with the harpsichord. He understood to perfection the possibilities of all stringed instruments. This is evidenced by his solos for the violin and for the violoncello without bass. One of the greatest violinists once told me that he had seen nothing more perfect for learning to be a good violinist, and could suggest nothing better to anyone eager to learn, than the said violin solos without bass."

It is also worth noting that Ysaÿe believed that a violinist, in addition to great technical skill, had to be aware of the wide range of emotions that must be expressed through performance. Tetzlaff's interpretation adapts perfectly within this concept.

[*] Forkel was Bach's first biographer. His work, "Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work," was published 52 years after Bach's death, and it can be said that this book initiated the recovery of Johann Sebastian Bach's memory and work.

Christian Tetzlaff


Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Partita No. 2, en D minor, BWV 1004
V - Chacone

Shared on YouTube by Christian Tetzlaff Tema
Provided by Naxos of America
September 7, 2017

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) said that Bach's Chaconne from Partita No. 2 was, in his opinion, "one of the most wonderful and incomprehensible pieces." We can certainly say that it is a beautiful piece, yet technically and expressively demanding.

György Kurtág (1926), another enthusiast of Bach's work, created a piece within his cycle of "Tributes" dedicated "Homage to JSB." This piece is part of the collection, "Signs, Games and Messages."

Christian Tetzlaff

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Sonata No. 3 en C major, BWV 1005
Largo i Allegro assai

Shared on YouTube by The 92nd Street Y. New York
July 7, 2014

Bach's Sonata No. 3 is technically complex yet musically profound. It is a challenging piece to perform because it features both contrapuntal writing and a four-voice texture.

The title of the concert

The title perfectly described the concert because, as has been shown in previous paragraphs, it was a true challenge.

L'intèrpret

“Tetzlaff is pushing for the maximum... more intensity is not possible.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung

““one of the most brilliant and inquisitive artists of the new generation ”
The New York Times

Christian Tetzlaff (1966) was born in Hamburg. He began studying violin and piano at the age of six, but from the age of 14, he focused on violin studies.

Conservatory with Uwe-Martin Haiberg, to whom he attributes his musical perspective: "Musical interpretation is the key to technique, not the other way around.".

He subsequently moved to the University of Cincinnati College of Music to study with Walter Levine. He participated in the Marlboro Festival in Vermont for two summers.

Christian Tetzlaff

SWR Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Juraj Valčuh

Josef Suks (1874 - 1935)
Fantasie for Violin and Orchestra in G minor

Shared on YouTube by ARD Klassik
March 10, 2026

In 1994, she founded the Tetzlaff Quartet with her sister, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, and violinists Hanna Weinmeister and Elisabeth Kufferach. He also performs in a trio format with his sister and pianist Kiveli Dörken.

This season (25/26) he is artist-in-residence with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the city where he lives. This season's program includes the world premiere in Paris of Ondrej Adamek's (1979) Violin Concerto No. 2.

Tetzlaff teaches at the Kronberg Academy, one of the most prestigious music schools in the world.

The school's motto is a quote from Casals: "art in service of humanity." In 2022, the Kronberg Academy Foundation created a space for teaching, studying, and performing, with an exceptional chamber music hall, that is also carbon neutral emissions. This space is called the "Casals Forum."

Discography

His discograpphy is very extensive. It includes works ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to contemporary musicians like Witold Lutosławski (1913 – 1994) or Jörg Widmann (1973).

Awards

He has received numerous awards both individually and as part of the Tetzlaff Quartet. These include the Echo Klassik in 2017, awarded by the Deutsche Phono Akademie (the German Recording Industry Association), for his album of Johannes Brahms's (1833-1897) Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3, recorded with Lars Vogt (1970). This same album was nominated for an ICMA award that same year. Also in 2017, he received the Würth Prize for his exceptional performances and his commitment to promoting classical music, especially among young people. ICMA had previously awarded Tetzlaff the Artist of the Year award in 2015.

Christian Tetzlaff
Lars Vogt (1970 - 2022), piano


Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)
Sonata for violin No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
I - Vivace ma non troppo

Shared on YouTube by Christian Tetzlaff Tema
Jamuary 29, 2017

In 2018 he received the award given by Gramophone Magazine for the live recording of Béla Bartók's violin concertos 1 and 2 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu (1967). In 2025 he received the Gramophone Award for the album of Piano Quartets by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) together with Lars Vogt (piano), Barbara Buntrock (viola) and Tanja Tetzlaff (cello).

Christian Tetzlaff
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Hannu Litu (1967)


Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945)
Violin Concert No. 1
I - Andante sostenuto
II - Allegro giocoso

Shared on YouTube by Passion For Violin
May 7, 2020

He has also received the 2018 Annual Award from the Alte Landtag Oldenburg German Record Critics' Award) from the album of Sonatas and Partitas for violin BWV 1001 - 1006 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750).

He won an award, “Diapason d’Or” 2017 in Paris. He was also chosen as Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America in 2005.

He has been nominated forGrammy Awards three times:

• 2006 - Best performance of chamber music for Béla Bartók's Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2, recorded with Leif Ove Andsnes (piano). This recording won the Edison Award that same year.

• 2016 - Best chamber music performance of Johannes Brahms' Piano Trios 1-3, recorded with, Tanja Tetzlaff (cello) i Lars Vogt (keyboard).

• 2017 -Best classical music soloist for the violin concerto, Romance, by​ Antonin Dvořák (1841 – 1904) and Josef Suk (1874 -1935) Fantasy with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by John Storgårds (1963).

This very month of June, and as an example of the recognition that Christian Tetzlaff has as a musician,The Strad has dedicated its cover and a report to him.

Music and Peace

Tetzlaff was another musician who reacted to Donald Trump's policies by canceling his 2025 US tour. Tetzlaff stated: "Music conveys messages about the human condition, empathy, and the heart. We must defend those ideals."

Christian Tetzlaff
Deutsche Kammerphilarmonie Bremen
conducted by Paavo Järvi (1962)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Adagio for a violin and orchestra in E major, K. 261

Shared on YouTube by Passion For Violin
May 4, 2020

Tetzlaff's violin

His violin is a work of Stefan-Peter Greiner (1966), according to a Guarnieri del Gesù design. (Giuseppe Guarnieri del Gesù, 1698 - 1744).

María Dolores García Martínez
esguarddedona

From left to right:
Jakob Kammerlander (violin)
Sebastian Gwilt (violin)
Jonathan Brown (viola)
Miquel Garcia Ramon (cello)

Festival Internacional de Música Pau Casals
(Pau Casals International Music Festival)
El Vendrell 2025

Popular open-air concert
(FIMPC 2025 – VII)

Thursday, July 17, 2025
7th Concert
Plaça Nova
El Vendrell

Holding a free, open-air concert has become a tradition at the Pau Casals International Music Festival in El Vendrell.The performances take place with the statue of Pablo Casals in the background, a sculpture by Josep Viladomat.

Link to the concert summary produced by Radio Televisión del Vendrell. The video contains short clips of the musical performances as well as the opinions of various attendees who highly value the celebration of the popular concert.

From left to right:
Alena Hove (violin)
Alexander Janiczek(violin)
Josef Hundsbichler (viola)
On the right side of the photograph you can see the statue dedicated to Pau Casals, a work by Josep Viladomat(1899 - 1989)

Festival Internacional de Música Pau Casals
El Vendrell 2025

There are two reasons to celebrate the popular outdoor concert. The first is to fulfil Pablo Casals' wish that access to high-quality classical music should not be reserved only for those who could attend grand theatres.

From left to right:
Andreas Siles-Melinger (violin)
Sebastian Gwilt (violin)

Festival Internacional de Música Pau Casals
El Vendrell 2025

The second reason is to commemorate the popular concert that Pablo Casals gave in El Vendrell on July 27, 1927. The choice of venue for the concert is not accidental; it is the same place where Casals gave the 1927 concert. A concert that was part of the events honouring Pablo Casal, events arranged by the Vendrell City Council and the Pau Casals Orchestra.

Documentary of the events of July 10, 1927,
including the public concert conducted by Pablo Casals.


Film produced by Dalfo Magazine.
Shared on YouTube on July 10, 2020,
by the Pau Casals Foundation

Additional information:

Josep Viladomat

Manlleu (Barcelona), March 23, 1899 – Escaldes-Engordany (Andorra), June 2, 1989. He admired the masters of the Italian Renaissance, Baroque imagery, and the work of sculptors Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) and Manolo Hugué (1872-1945).
His repertoire of works is very broad, ranging from religious imagery to public sculpture, including sports themes, genre scenes, and subjects related to the Spanish Civil War and exile.

María Dolores García Martínez
esguarddedona

For Isaac [Stern]
(FIMPC 2025 – VI)

Wednesday, July 16, 2025
6th Concert
Pau Casals Auditorium

Jaime Laredo (violin)
Sharon Robinson (cello)
Anna Polonsky (piano)
Mayumi Kanagawa (violin)
Celia Eliaz (viola)
Pau Casals’ International Music Festival 
El Vendrell 2025

Go directly to:

Concert Review /   Concert program /   The performers /   Casals and Stern /   Isaac Stern (1920 - 2001) /   Isaac Stern and the cinema /   Awards and recognitions /   Isaac Stern's violins /   Mozart, Stern's home /  

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Concert Review

An exquisitely beautiful concert, one of those where you feel the music arise, and it takes you to serene happiness through delightful works and players who were transmitting their huge love and deference to the music. The performers, all of them great artists; Laredo and Robinson enjoy great prestige; Polonsky's acting is pure poetry, as the Rutland Herald said of her; and Kanagawa and Eliaz are recognized and respected despite their youth.

Concert program

Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)
Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 in A major, Op. 100

Antonin Dvořák (1841 – 1904)
Piano, Violin, and Cello Trio in E minor, No. 4, Op. 90 “Dumky”

Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856)
Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44

The performers

Jaime Laredo, violin
Sharon Robinson, cello
Anna Polonsky, piano
Mayumi Kanagawa, violin
Celia Eliaz, viola

Jaime Laredo (violin)
Sharon Robinson (cello)
Joseph Kalichstein (piano)


Antonin Dvořák (1841 - 1904)
Trio No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 90 “Dumky”
IV - Andante Moderato
Recorded in 1986

Auto-generated by You-Tube
Provided by MenuettoClassics

Shared on YouTube on May 10, 2018
by Joseph Kalichstein Tema

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Jaime Laredo

Sharon Robinson

Anna Polonsky

Anna Polonsky (piano)
Bella Hristova (violin)

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
Sonata for Violin in D minor No. 3, Op. 108
I - Allegro

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center
Enregistrat per Skillman Music el 25 de març de 2019

Recorded by Skilmman Music on March 26, 2019
Shared on YouTube on May 12, 2020
by Young Concert Artist

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Laredo, Robinson, and Polonsky were the performers for the second concert of this festival; on this occasion, they played with:

Mayumi Kanagawa

[Mayumi Kanagawa] “Effortless bless…with her nearly viola-like sound, she transfigured the agitation between genius and madness in Schumann’s Violin Concerto into touching beauty”

Frankfurter Allgemeine

Mayumi Kanagawa

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Sonata for Violin No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001
I - Adagio
II - Fuga. Allegro
III - Siciliana
IV- Presto


Violin Stradivarius 1725 "Wilhelmj"

Live Recording
Nippon Music Foundation
The Association of Public Theaters and Halls in Japan
Ichinoseki Chamber of Culture

Shared on YouTube on April 30, 2025
by Sasakawa Music Foundation

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Mayumi Kanagawa (1994). She has studied with Kolja Blacher (1963), Yoshiko Nakura (1945), Masao Kawasaki (1951), and Robert Lipsett (1947).

In 2024, she won the first prize in the George Enescu International Competition. (George Enescu 1881 – 1959). She also received the prize for the best interpretation performance of an Enescu sonata. She won the silver medal at the Long-Thibaud Crespin Competition (2018), the International Tchaikovsky competition (Moscow 2019), and the Fresh Artist Award offered by Nippon Steel in 2024.

She has performed with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Mayumi Kanagawa Mayumi Kanagawa’s website explains her participation as an ambassador in the Ribbon Project in Japan, through which musical instruments are provided to children in foster homes. In addition, she participates in the dissemination of musical programs and visits schools around the world.

Since the end of 2023, she has taught at the Hochshule für Künste in Bremen. That same year, she recorded her first CD “Recital” with pianist Giuseppe Guarrera (1991), which garnered great critical acclaim in Japan.

She plays the “Wilhelmj” violin by Antonius Stradivari, made in 1725, and on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.This violin has a label that reads: “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1725”. August Wilhelmj (1845 – 1908) was the owned this violin, hence its name, the Wilhelmj violin. The Nippon Music Foundation acquired it in 2001.

Celia Eliaz, viola

Celia Eliaz (viola) - Mari Kato (piano)

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
Sonata for Violin Solo No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001
Vivace ma non troppo

Universitat Mozarteum Salzburg
Shared on YouTube on June 17, 2022
by Celia Eliaz

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Celia Eliaz (1997). studied in the “Sistema Nacional de Orquestas y Coros Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela” (El Sistema).(National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela)

Subsequently, she obtained a higher degree in Music from the ESMUC (Catalonia Higher School of Music), and holds a university master‘s degree in viola and chamber music from Mozarteum University in Salzburg.

She has played with the Venezuelan Young Symphony Orchestra and the Venezuelan Children’s Symphony Orquestra, conducted by Sir Simon Ratler (1955), and also with the National Youth Orchestra of Catalonia (JONC).

Celia Eliaz won the second prize at the Francesco Geminiani Competition in Verona (2019), first prize at the P. Hindemith Competition at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, the Gianni Bergamo Classical Music Prize, and the Beija-flor String Quartet in Lugano (Switzerland).

She studied in masterclasses with Domingo Mujica, Adriana Virgüez Cruz, Silvia Simionescu, Thomas Riebl (1956), Alexander Pavlovsky, among others. One of her viola teachers not yet mentioned was Johathan Brown (1974), who has a deep connection with the Pau Casals Festival in El Vendrell, and he was a member of the Casals Quartet between 2002 and 2024.

The title of the concert

The title referred to another of Casals’ friends: Isaac Stern (1920 – 2001).

Casals and Stern

Stern wrote in his memoirs:

“The best image that comes to mind to describe Pablo Casals is a wall and a garden. Imagine that you suddenly find yourself in front of a wall and you don’t know that behind it there is a magnificent garden. What Casals did was to open the gate to this garden. When we entered we discovered thousands of colours and smells that we didn’t know existed. He revealed to us what you can achieve once you are inside the garden. To create our own colours and smells using the power of musical imagination is our responsibility.”

Isaac Stern
Reference: Fundació Pau Casals

Isaac Stern (violin)
Marcel Tabuteau (1887 - 1966) (oboe)
Fernando Valenti (1926 - 1990) (harpsichordist)
Prades Festival Orchestra
Conductor: Pablo Casals

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Violin and Oboe Concert in C minor, BWV 1060R
I- Allegro

Live Recording
This recording is part of the compilation entitled
"Prades & Perpignan, 1950 - 1952"

Shared on YouTube. December 3, 2020
by Isaac Stern Tema

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1950 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach. Some musicians want to celebrate and hope that Pablo Casals will be present at the celebration. Casals did not want to perform on stage, because with his non-presence on stage, he wished to show his rejection of totalitarianism and of fascism. Bach was Casals’ favourite composer. He finally agreed to participate in a concert, but in Prades (Prada de Conflent in Catalan), where Casals lived. Schneider was instrumental in securing Casals’ acceptance. Casals arranged with Schneider to include young soloists in the orchestra. The two young soloists were Eugene Istomin (piano) and Isaac Stern (violin). (The second concert of the Pau Casals Festival 2025 in El Vendrell was dedicated to Istomin, the closing concert of the festival was dedicated to Schneider, the sixth festival was dedicated to Stern, and the ninth was dedicated to Rudolf Serkin).

On the website dedicated to Istomin (a great work by Bernard Meillat), we can read how Istomin and Stern formed a strong friendship and how Casals compared Stern to the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, whom Casals greatly admired.

Casals’ vision was right, Stern and Istomin were great musicians, and their professional careers proved it.

One of Stern and Istomin’s dreams was to form a trio with Casals. That dream came true in 1952 at the Pablo Casals Festival in Prada. They performed together:

• 8 Schubert songs from Die schöne Müllerin, with the mezzosoprano Jenie Tourel (1900 – 1973)

• Schumann’s Violin Sonata, Op. 105

• Brahms Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 38

• Brahms Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101

At the Puerto Rico Festival in 1959 they were scheduled to play together again, but the program had to be changed.

But their real dream was to consolidate themselves as a trio, but this was not possible because Casals did not want to perform outside of Prades; because he wished to continue expressing his rejection of fascism, totalitarianism or dictatorial government, and he express it using the silence of his cello in the great theatres of the world; besides, Casals was 73 in 1950, Istomin 25 and Stern 30.

The influence of Casals on Istomin and Stern was so intense that Istomin declared: “There is no doubt in my mind that an already strongly ingrained chemistry between Stern and myself was enhanced by our collaborations with Casals."

Issac Stern (violin)
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Conductor Eugene Ormandy (1899 - 1985)

Edouard Lalo (1823 - 1892)
Symphonie Espagnole, Op. 21
I - Allegro non troppo
II - Scherzando: Allegro molto
III - Intermezzo: Allegro non troppo
IV - Andante
V- Rondo : Allegro

Philadelphia
1956

Shared on YouTube on June 30, 2024
by Classic&Opera

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Isaac Stern (1920 - 2001)

[Issac Stern] A Virtuoso in Perpetual Motion

Wall Street Journal

Isaac Stern was born in Kremenets on July 21, 1920. Kremenets is today a city in Ukraine, but in 1918 it was a city of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, in 1920 it was a city of Poland, and in 1922 a city of the U.S.S.R. This demonstrates the instability of the town

Stern’s family was Jewish. His parents, Clara Jaffe and Solomon Stern were both musicians. She had studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The family decided to emigrate to the USA when Isaac Stern was just ten months old.

An exceptional violinist since his childhood

Stern was 6 years old when he started learning piano with his mother, and at age 8, he began to study violin. When he gave his first concert at the age of 9, he demonstrated his high quality.

At age 11, he performed his first recital. He made his debut with an orchestra at the age of 17, performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Monteaux (1875 – 1964), the concertino was Naoum Blinder (1889 – 1965), Stern main violin teacher.

He debuted at New York’s Town Hall at the age of 18 and, finally, on January 8, 1943, he gave his first concert at Carnegie Hall, at the age of 22.

Isaac Stern made his European debut at the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland) under the direction of Charles Munch (1891 – 1968) in 1948.

Isaac Stern and the music: a way to cultural rapprochement

Andy Lanset a WNYC he explained on September 19, 2018, that Stern began a tour of the USSR on May 3, 1956, in the midst of the Cold War. In the last ten years, no American artist had visited the USSR. The first concert took place at the Moscow Great Conservatory Hall with the pianist Alexander Zakin (1903 – 1990). Stern subsequently visited Leningrad, Kyiv, Baku, Tbilisi, Eferan, and Moscow again. At each concert, Stern addressed the audience in Russian.

Perform music in China

Stern visited China just a year after China and the United States restarted diplomatic relations. The visit was documented in the film “Mao to Mozart: Issac Stern in China”. It was 1979.

Documental "From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China"
Shared on YouTube on January 12, 2025
by padroi

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Perform music in Israel

In 1967, a few days after the end of the Six-Day War, Isaac Stern performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra on Mount Scopus (Har Ha Tsofin), under the direction of Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990).

A fierce battle was fought on Mount Scopus during that war. From there, Jerusalem can see. In fact, in 66 A.D., the Romans used this mount to witness their attack on Jerusalem. Today, Mount Scopus is home to various cultural, academic, and social institutions.

This documentary was filmed in 1967
It chronicles the visit of
Isaac Stern and Leonard Bernstein,
the concert they gave,
and the situation in Israel.
The concert can be seen from minute 46 to minute 58;
at minute 60 Mahler’s Second Symphony (Resurrection) begins;
at minute 66, the symphony continues,
but the images show the consequences of the war,
and then it returns to the theatre
to show the final moment of the concert.

Isaac Stern (violin)
Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990) (conductor)
Jennie Tourel (1899 o 1900 - 1973) (Mezzo-soprano)
Netania Davrath (1931 - 1987) (soprano)
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Tel Aviv Philharmonic Choir

Concert program:
Fèlix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847)
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)
Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection)

Shared on YouTube on February 2, 2022
by Peleg Levy

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On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel during Yom Kippur. Isaac Stern visited Israel during that conflict and gave concerts in hospitals. Furthermore, Stern and Teddy Kollek (1911 – 2007), then mayor of Jerusalem, founded the Jerusalem Music Center, with the support of the Rothschild Foundation and the Jerusalem Foundation. The ultimate goal of this institution was, and remains, to support young Israeli musicians and offer high-quality concerts in the city.

In 1991, Stern was giving a concert in Jerusalem when the alarm sirens sounded, warning of a missile attack; the following documentary explains what happened.

It was February 23, 1991, during the Gulf War,
Isaac Stern and Zubin Mehta (1936)
with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the
Jerusalem Theater.
They were giving a concert.
They performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3.
Air raid sirens blared.
The music stopped. The musicians left the stage.
The audience began putting on gas masks.
Suddenly, Issac Stern returns to the stage.
And then, he began to interpret
the adagio from Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001.

Shared on YouTube on January 17, 2012
by Laurent Touil-Tartour

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Stern was confident that Saddam Hussein would not attack Jerusalem because in the city were Muslim holy sites and a large Palestinian population.

Support for the development of new musical talents

Stern had a genuine interest in providing opportunities for young musicians.

He had an interesting vision about opportunities. In an interview with Bruce Duffie Stern stated that it is necessary to provide opportunities to fail, because without the opportunity to fail, it is not possible to have the opportunity to succeed.

A viewpoint that demonstrates emotional intelligence and knowledge of life; support and the development of resilience are necessary in any project in our lives, whether professional or personal.

Along these lines, Stern developed the Jerusalem International Music Meeting, a four-week course dedicated exclusively to Beethoven, and taught to established musicians.

Isaac Stern as a teacher

Many renowned musicians studied with Stern. For instance: Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Renaud Capuçon...

This recording was made on the
60th anniversary of Stern’s birth.
Itzhak Perlman (1967) and Pinchas Zukerman (1948),
both students of Stern, participated.
The New York Philharmonic Orchestra,
conducted by Zubin Mehta (1936), also participated.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Concerto in D minor for two violins and orchestra, BWV 1043
Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741)
Concerto in F major for three violins, No. 34
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E-flat major, K. 364.

Recorded in 1981
Shared on YouTube on May 31, 2023
by JK Archives

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Ax-Stern-Laredo-Ma Quartet

Stern formed a quartet in 1989 with himself, two of his students, Emanuel Ax (1949), Yo-Yo Ma (1955), and Jaime Laredo (1941). All of them were and are renowned soloists. For fifteen years, they performed together on numerous occasions and recorded together a good number of albums.

Jaime Laredo (1941)(violin)
Emanuel Ax (1949) (piano)
Isaac Stern (violin)
Yo-Yo Ma (1955) (cello)

Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)
Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15
I - Allegro molto moderato

Recorded in 1992
Shared on YouTube on September 30, 2015
by Yo-Yo Ma

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Istomin–Stern–Rose Trio

This trio was born out of a desire: Istomin and Stern wanted to play together, and in their dreams, the trio was completed with Casals, but that was not possible, as already explained in another paragraph. So, they formed it with another musician: Leonard Rose. The trio worked together for 28 years. They gave more than 200 concerts and recorded 19 albums.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Triple Concerto in C Major Op. 36
I- Allegro
Eugene Istomin (1925 - 2003) (piano)
Isaac Stern ( 1920 – 2001) (violin)
Leonard Rose (1918 – 1984) (cello)
Pablo Casals (1876 – 1973) (conductor)

Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, May 31, 1970
Shared on YouTube on March 30, 2018
by Mit Feuer

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The trio Istomin-Stern-Rose first performed together in 1955 at the Ravinia Festival. At that time, chamber music was not too highly valued in the United States.

In their opinion, chamber music was as important as the symphonies or the concertos. They played together, but at the same time, each one of them had their own career as soloists.

They were considered the heirs of the Cortot-Thibaud-Casals Trio.

Saving the Carnegie Hall

Everywhere in the world, music enhances a hall, with one exception: Carnegie Hall

Issac Stern

Isaac Stern maintained a very close relationship with Carnegie Hall. From 1943 to 2001. Stern offered more than 200 performances in it. But this connection became more evident due to Stern's intense involvement in saving Carnegie Hall from demolition in 1960.

This link will take you to the History of Carnegie Hall. In the chapter, “A Brief History of Carnegie Hall”, you can download a PDF with the history.

Stern's last activity at Carnegie Hall was on June 9, 2000. It was a three-day workshop. He didn't play; he was the presenter.

On September 22, 2001, Stern died at the age of 81.
Carnegie Hall dedicates the 2019 - 2020 season in honour of Isaac Stern for the centennial of his birth.

This video is a celebration of the
centennial of Isaac Stern’s birth.

Shared on YouTube on July 20, 2020.
by Carnegie Hall

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Isaac Stern and the cinema

The first reference is the film “Humoresque”. Stern was an advisor, performed the music, and we can see his arms playing the violin in the early shots. The film tells the story of a violinist. Humoresque is the title of a composition by Antonin Dvořák (1841 – 1904).

Except from the film Humoresque.
Starring John Garfield (1913 – 1952)
and pianist and composer Oscar Levant (1906 – 1972).

The film was directed by Jean Negulesco (1900 – 1933)

Shared on YouTube on April 22, 2015,
by Daniel Kurganov (Violinista)

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As already stated in another paragraph, Casals said that Stern reminded him of Ysaÿe, whom he greatly admired. This was in 1950. Three years later, in 1953, Stern acted in a film as Eugène Ysaÿe (1858 – 1931). It was in the film “Tonight We Sing” dedicated to the impresario and music manager Sol Hurok (1888 – 1974).

A clip from the film
"Tonight We Sing,"
in which Stern plays Ysaÿe.
Stern performed accompanied by
pianist Alexander Zarkin,
though Zarkin is not credited.

Shared on YouTube on January 11, 2022
by David Sukonick

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In the film Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Stern played the violin solos. (In this film, the orchestration, arrangement, and conducting of the orchestra were done by John Williams.)

Film credits for the film
“Fiddler on the Roof”,
with music performed
by Isaac Stern.

Shared on YouTube on February 14, 2017
by Miguel

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In the film “Mr Ripley” (1999), the second movement (Andante Cantabile) in E-Flat major, Op. 16, of Beethoven’s Piano Quintet in version Piano Quartet was used, performed by Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma, and Emanuel Ax.

This music was used in the film
“Mr. Ripley” (1999)

Ax-Stern-Laredo-Ma

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Piano Quintet in E-Flat major, Op. 16, in version Piano Quartet,
II - Andante Cantabile

Shared on YouTube on January 25, 2017
by Yo-Yo Ma

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Awards and recognitions

“From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China” (1979) won the Oscar for best documentary in 1981.

Isaac Stern won 7 Grammy Awards and was nominated 29 times.

1961 – Best Classical Performance. Instrumental Soloist with Concerto Scale Accompaniment. Béla Bartok (1881 – 1945). Violin Concerto No 1

1962 - Best Classical Performance. Instrumental Soloist with orchestra. Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971) Violin Concerto in D

1964 - Best Classical Performance. Instrumental Soloist with orchestra. Serguéi Prokófiev (1891 – 1953) Violin Concerto No 1 in D

1970 – Best Chamber Music Performance Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) The Complete Piano Trios

1977 – Best Classical Music Album. Concert of The Century

1981 – Best Classical Performance. Instrumental Soloist with orchestra. Isaac Stern 60th Anniversary Celebration

1991 – Best Chamber Music Performance Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) Piano Quartets (Op. 25 & 26)

In 1991, Stern was awarded the National Medal of Arts Recipient.

In 1992, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, granted during the presidency (1989 – 1993) of George H. W. Busch (1924 – 2018).

On the Isaac Stern website we can see that he was awarded Commandeur de la Legion d’Honneur (France) in 1990.

Among other accolades, the Kennedy Center website explains that Stern received the Albert Schweitzer Music Award in 1976 "for a life dedicated to music and devoted to humanity". Furthermore, in 1984 the Kennedy Center honored him at a ceremony held in the East Wing of the White House during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. One of Stern's well-known phrases, so much so that Reagan quoted it at the awards ceremony, is "I got my break because of the faith and belief private people showed in my work", which makes his support for new young musical talent even more understandable.

in Israel, in 1987,Stern also received the Wolf Award.

: “for his everlasting humanistic contribution to society as an artist and educator, which transcends the boundaries of musical performance”. In 1997, the Government of Japan awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun, Third Class, for his passion to provide education to younger generations.

In 2000, he received the Polar Music Prize from Sweden for Stern’s commitment to the education of new generations. They especially highlighted Stern’s attitude towards the humanist power of music.
He holds an honorary doctorate from Harvard University. He has also been honored by the Juilliard School, Yale University, Columbia University, New York University, Johns Hopkins University, Oxford University, and Tel Aviv University, among others.

Isaac Stern’s violins

• “Kreuse-Vormbaum” Stradivarius de 1728
  (Antonio Stradivari, 1644 – 1737)

• “Ex-Stern” Bergonzi de 1733
  (Carlo Bergonzi, 1683 - 1747)

• “Panette” Guarneri del Gesù de 1737
  (Giuseppe Guarniere del Gesù, 1698 – 1744)
  Today Renaud Capuçon (1976) plays this violin

Violin "Stern, ex Panette" by Guarnieri del Gesù de 1737
On the Tarisio website we can read
that this violin was sold by
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume in 1847.
The violin was in París until1920. It was bought in 1944
by Isaac Stern
who paid $65,000 for it;
almost 50 years later, Stern
sold it to the collector David Fulton.
On this same website, we can read an interview with
Renaud Capuçon, who said about this violin:
" I have all the recordings, all the pictures;
there is one with Pablo Casals
smoking his cigar with
this violin by his side”.

Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714 - 1787)
Melody (Orfeo ed Euridice) Wq.30
Arrangement for violin and piano by Fritz Kreisler (1875 - 1962)

Renaud Capuçon (1976) violin
Jerome Ducros(1974) piano

Shared on YouTube. May 12, 2009
by stanlefo

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• Michele Angelo Bergonzi (1739 -1757)
  

• Giovanni Guardagnini 1754
  Guardagnini ( 1711 - 1786)
  

• “Ex-Nicolas I” or “Tsar Nicholas”
  Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume
  This violin was commissioned in 1840 by Prince and composer Alexei Lvov (1799 – 1870)
  (Font: Ingles&Hayday)
  

• “Vuillame de Stern” 1850.
  This violin is a copy of a Panette (Guarneri del Gesù). It has a label that reads: “Jean Baptiste Vuillaume in Paris, and the number 1774.
  This violin was part of a quartet that Villaume built for his son-in-law, the violist Delphin Alarad (1815 – 1888)
  

• “Stern”
  A 1994 copy of the Guarneri violin
  made by Samuel Zygmuntowicz(1956)
  

( Link to Tarisio website , where we can read about the violins and bows sold in 2003 that were owned by Isaac Stern.

From 1965 to 1998, Stern was the owner of the violin “Ysaÿe Guarnerius” de Guarneri del Gesù 1740.
This violin had belonged to Eugène Ysaÿe (1858 - 1931).

Ysaÿe placed a label on the violin. The label reads: ‘Ce del Gesù fut le fidéle compagnone de ma vie – Eugène Ysaÿe 1928’ (This del Gesù was the faithful companion of my life) Stern placed another label almost next to Ysaÿe’s label; Stern’s label reads: “La mienne aussi” (Mine too)

This violin currently belongs to the Nippon Music Foundation. Sergey Khachatryan played it from 2010 to 2022, recording all six sonatas, Op. 27, by Eugène Ysaÿe.

Mozart, Stern’s home

"Mozart’s music is like an X-ray of your soul
– it shows what is there and what is not"

Isaac Stern

This quote from Stern appears on numerous occasions, and his opinion was well known. Therefore, the review written by Bernard Gavoty (Claredon) in Le Figaró, titled “Stern chez Mozart” (Stern at Mozart’s House), on January 29, 1973, is not surprising. The day before, Stern had given a concert performing two Mozart concertos. One of them was the Violin Concerto No. 3, the work that Stern performed most frequently. Moreover. It was the first Mozart work he recorded, in 1950

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major K 216
I - Alegro
II - Adagio
III - Rondo: Allegro

Isaac Stern (violí)
Columbia Chamber Orchestra conductor Isaac Stern
Nova York, 1950

This is an interesting document,
because Stern didn't like being both
conductor and soloist at the same time.
But in this case,
he is doing both

Shared on YouTube. May 6, 2022
byClassic &Opera.

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María Dolores García Martínez
esguarddedona

Alexander Melnikov - Jean-Guihen Queyras

The last Beethoven and the young Rachmaninov
(FIMPC 2025 – V)

Tuesday
July, 15
Fifth Concert
Pau Casals Auditorium

Jean-Guihen Queyras - Alexander Melnikov
Pau Casals Internactional Music Festival

Concert Review

Sometimes we need a few words to express the experience of listening to a concert that allows you to feel that nothing bad exists in the world, in that moment, only the music, only a perfect and balanced space and time. This was one of those moments.

The concert was vibrant, the performance brilliant, and the feeling of experiencing ethereal moments was especially enhanced by the ideal pianissimos.

Concert Program

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Sonata for Piano and Cello in C Major, Op. 10 No. 1
Sonata for Piano and Cello in D Major, Op. 102 No. 2

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943)
Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19

Encores:Debussy and Chopin

The performers

Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello
Alexander Melnikov, piano

Jean-Guihen Queyras y Alexander Melnikov

Ludwig van Beethoven
Variaciones Judas Macabeu de

Cello Biennale Amsterdam, 2015
Compartido en YouTube - 17 de marzo de 2015

Jean-Guihen Queyras

[Jean-Guihen – Queyras], is characterized by insatiable curiosity,
diversity and a firm focus on the music itself.

Interlude

Jean-Guihen Queyras (1967) was born in Montreal (Canada). He studied with Claire Rabier and Reine Flachot (1922 - 1998) and later at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de danse de Lyon.

In addition, he studied chamber music with Alain Meunier (1942) and later with Christoph Henkol (1946) and Tim Eddy ^[1] who was a student of Bernard Greenhouse (1916-2011), who in turn was a student of Pau Casals.

[1]Tim Eddy won the Gaspar Cassado International Cello Prize in Florence, Italy, in 1975, receiving the highest distinction. He also performed several times at the Marlboro Festival. In addition, he attended masterclasses with Pablo Casals. Eddy comments on Casals:

Casals’ playing was built around speaking with the cello, and speaking with the greatest candor from a gut level. He was more interested in soulful playing than in prettiness, though there was incredible refinement and finesse in his own playing. His playing was so gutsy, direct, and simple that when I watched him play my reaction was “How could it be done any other way?” His technical means fit the musical end perfectly.

From: Conversation with Timothy Eddy (July, 2001) .

Queyras maintained a long collaboration with Pierre Boulez (1925 - 2016), especially as a soloist of the Ensemble Intercontemporain a group created and directed by Boulez.

Critics say that Queyras is an eclectic musician. He has collaborated with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, and also with the Akademie fur Alte Musik in Berlin. He has performed music ranging from Baroque to contemporary. For example, he premiered works by Ivan Fedele (1953), Gilbert Amy (1936), Bruno Mantovani (1974), Michael Jarrell (1958), Johannes Maria Staud (1974), Thomas Larcher (1963), Tristan Murail (1947) or Péter Eötvös (1944 – 2024).

He is a founding member of the Arcanto Quartett and is part of the Faust-Queyras-Melnikov Trio; with violinist Isabelle Faust (1972) and pianist Aleksandr Melnikov (1973).

Queyras has performed as a soloist with the Danish National Orchestra, the Paris Chamber Orchestra, and the Mozarteum Orchestra, among others. He has performed in Taipei (Taiwan), New York, Buenos Aires, London, Riga, and Prague, to name just a few.

Jean-Guihen Queyras
Freiburger Barockorchester
Conductor: Pablo Heras-Casado

Robert Schumann
Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129

DW Classical Music
Shared on YouTube -October 3, 2020

Jean-Guihen Queyras is a professor at the Freiburg University of Music and director of the Festival Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence.

In 2008, he was voted “Artist of the Year” by Diapason readers. That same year, he won the Victories de la Musique Classique award for Best Instrumental Soloist. This latter award recognizes the recipient’s excellence, creativity, and virtuosity

In 2024, Queyras performed with the Kyiv Camerata and visited a hospital (Recovery Ukraine) treating soldiers wounded in the Russian invasion. He also visited a clinic for children with trauma caused by the same event. In 2025, after Zelensky's first visit to Trump and seeing how Trump disparaged the Ukrainian president, Queyras donated all the money earned from his five US concerts to UNITED24,a Ukrainian organization and an official Ukrainian government platform for raising funds to aid Ukraine..

Queyras' cello

Queyras plays the Kaiser Stradivarius (Cremona, 1707), on loan from Canimex Inc. of Drummondville, Quebec.

Jean-Guihen Queyras at the "Casa Stradivari"

The text accompanying the video explains that the Kaiser cello,
built by Stradivarius, had returned to the city of its birth.
Queyras was in Cremona to give a masterclass organized
by the Casa Stradivari Foundation.
Eleven students from various countries participated in the masterclass.
In the afternoon, the closing ceremony was held in the Sala Mafei.
All of this was part of an event that combined
music and the art of instrument making at the
start of the new school year.

Source: Quotidiano La Provincia di Cremona
Shared on YouTube - November 14, 2025

The website Tarisio offers information on great luthiers and this magnificent instrument throughout the centuries, as well as on the performers who played it. Tarisio has over 36.000 entries in open access. There may be information about the Kaiser cello on restricted pages, not open to the public. Likewise, other searches carried out in other possible sources have also yielded no results. Therefore, I cannot provide information about the owners and performers who were previously associated with this cello.

The relationship between performer and composer in Queyras's opinion

For Jean-Guihen Queyras, falling in love with the world of composers is essential.

To love Bach and admire Casals

Queyras loves both Bach and Casals; there is a deep and invisible connection between them.

In an interview with the newspaper El País, he said, regarding a blind audition of the slow movement of Beethoven's Sonata No. 5, performed by Pau Casals:

"...no cellist has captured the essence of the human being in each note like him. That's why it goes straight to your heart, like when someone hugs you, and you don't need to speak..."

Jean-Guihen Queyras - Alexander Melnikov

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sonata in G minor, Op. 19​
IV - Allegro Mosso

Auto-generated YouTube
Provided por PIAS - May 5, 2022

Alexander Melnikov

Alexander Mélnikov (1973) was born in Moscow. He was a student of Lev Naumov (1925-2005) at the Moscow Conservatory, where he graduated. He also studied with Elisso Wirssaladze (1942) in Munich.

He won the Robert Schumann International Award in Zwicky (1989) and the Elisabeth International Award of Belgium in Brussels in 1991.

He possesses a wide repertoire, ranging from historically informed performances to works by Shostakovich, no forgetting Bach, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff...

Alexander Melnikov
Freiburger Barockorchester
Conductor: Pablo Heras-Casado

Robert Schumann
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54

DW Classical Music
Shared on YouTube - September 12, 2020

Melnikov performs regularly with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Musica Aeterna, and Akademie fur Alt Musik Berlin. He has appeared as a soloist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Gewandhauserorchester de Leipzig, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and the BBC Philharmonic, among others.

With Queyras, he recorded Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano.

Melnikov had recorded 51 CDs up to that point. He won the BBC Music Magazine Award for his performance of Shostakovich's Prelude and Fugue

The concert works

The context in which the sonatas were written

It is said that Beethoven's two sonatas were written with their intended performer in mind: Joseph Linke (1783–1837). As for their dedication, the second edition (1819) lists Countess Maria von Erdödy (1778–1837), one of Beethoven's patrons. Interestingly, Linke was the tutor of the Countess' children.

Maria von Erdödy and Beethoven felt mutual admiration. Perhaps for this reason, some say that these sonatas were written out of the great esteem Beethoven felt for her.

In the program notes for the Beethoven Cello and Piano Sonata Cycle, (February 1981 - March Foundation), Enrique Franco and Cecilio Roda reproduce a fragment from an 1815 letter that Beethoven wrote to Countess von Erdödy in which he says: "We, finite beings who possess an infinite spirit, were born for pain and joy; And one could almost say that the chosen ones find joy through pain.”

This reflection can be understood even better by reading Georg Predota's article in Interlude (November 18, 1915), in which he explains that Beethoven had been suffering from illness and anxiety since 1812; Moreover, his deafness was becoming increasingly evident. It was a period in which financial problems also arose. Furthermore, his brother died in 1815, and Beethoven became embroiled in a long legal battle to obtain custody of his nephew Carl; and once he won, his nephew attempted suicide, something the composer could never understand. Adding to all this, he lost contact with the Countess, although they were able to re-establish it in 1815, as the letter testifies.

The same letter explains that the Countess had traveled to Jedlersee to try to improve her health condition. Illness was another aspect that the Countess and Beethoven had in common.

Even more, in an article by Emily E. Hogstad published on December 4, 2025, in Interlude, it is explained that the Countess was almost immobile due to a health crisis she suffered after her first childbirth. She could barely walk. The music for her was a balm, especially Beethoven's music.

Hogtad also explains the significant role Countess von Erdödy played in Beethoven's professional life. A factor described even more extensively by Jan Hendrik Neumann in Jérôme (February 9, 2019). Beethoven was on the verge of accepting the position of Kapellmeister in Kassel, at the court of Jérôme Bonaporte (1784–1860), who had been appointed King of Westphalia (1807–1813) by his brother Napoleon. Upon learning of this, the Countess and Baron Ignaz Gleichauf von Gleichestein gathered a group of nobles and aristocrats to guarantee Beethoven a pension that would prevent him from leaving Vienna. to Kassel. They offered him a pension of 4,000 florins a year. Beethoven stayed, but problems soon arose: war broke out, inflation skyrocketed, and of all those committed to his cause, only Archduke Rudolf maintained the stipend, with a little over 1,300 florins a year.

Unconventional sonatas

The works possess characteristics that make them groundbreaking in relation to the ideas of the time, because they are very different from the traditional approaches of that era. Both the public and critics were baffled by these works, and yet, for the Romantic generation, they were considered fascinating.

In the urtext edition of the Sonata in C major, Op. 102 No. 1, published by G. Henle Verlag, a review from 1818 is quoted as saying: “Without a doubt [the sonatas] are among the most unusual and peculiar things written in a long time” The sonatas date from 1815, and the first edition is from 1817.

The term “urtext” means that the edition is based on original sources without later additions or alterations.
In this type of edition, the aim is to be as faithful as possible to what the author wrote.
Therefore, they use the authors' manuscripts and first editions.
If they reach a point where they must make a choice in order to edit the works, this choice is justified with a report. For this reason, this type of edition is sometimes called a “historical-critical edition.”
In this case, the edition is by Jens Dufner (1971), the piano fingering is by Ian Fountain (1971), and the cello fingering and bowing are by David Geringas (1946).

The peculiarities of the Sonata in C major Op. 102, no. 1

Beethoven wrote the text “Freie Sonate” on it, which means "free sonata".

It has been debated whether it was written in two movements instead of the usual four, or whether the movements should be performed without distinction.

In the concert by Queyras and Melnikov, it was structured in two movements: I Andante – II Allegro vivace

Jean-Guihen Queyras - Alexander Melnikov

Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102, No. 2
I - Allegro con brio

Auto-generated YouTube
Provided by Harmonia Mundi - November 19, 2017

Cello and Piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 19 by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff dedicated this work to Anatoliy Bradukov (1856–1930), who premiered it with the composer in Moscow in December 1901.

Rachmaninoff wrote this sonata after suffering a nervous breakdown caused by the rejection and harsh criticism of his first symphony, which premiered in 1897.It was a work that also transgressed conventional concepts. Rachmaninoff was 24 years old.

He titled it Sonata for Piano and Cello, probably because both instruments have equal prominence. It was published under that title in 1902.

On the label's record release Hyperion dedicated to this sonata, an edition made by Steven Isserlis (1958), cello and Sir Stephen Hough (1961), piano, it is written that it is a work that owes its sound to the influence of Russian church music.

In another edition, this one from Deutsche Grammophon, it is described as a monumental sonata, as demanding and prominent for the piano as for the cello. (This is a recording by Yuja Wang and Gautier Capuçon).

The title of the concert

Beethoven, when he composed these sonatas, was 45 years old and would die at 56, while Rachmaninoff, as mentioned earlier, was 24 when he composed his sonata. The sonatas were the beginning of the final stage of a composer's career (Beethoven) and the consolidation of recognition for a still young composer who had already tasted failure (Rachmaninoff).

Other similarities between the sonatas of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff

Furthermore, these sonatas share other similarities because they broke the theoretical boundaries of the sonata form. They are works that challenged preconceived notions of what a sonata should be. (In reality, creative force tends to overflow established frameworks.)

María Dolores García Martínez
esguarddedona