IDAGIO | Amsterdam Sinfonietta: Bartók

Featuring

Candida Thompson
Amsterdam Sinfonietta
Béla Bartók
Johannes Brahms

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Both Brahms and Bartók, the composers featured on this album, were bound by their love of folk music, from which they drew creative inspiration.

Interpretation

Amsterdam Sinfonietta, an ensemble of 22 string players, performs without a conductor, a distinguishing approach that demands intense involvement from all musicians.

Composer Biography

Brahms developed a lifelong passion for 'Hungarian gypsy music' after playing as a young cafe pianist with his father in the red-light district of Hamburg.

Composition History

Béla Bartók composed his Divertimento for String Orchestra in just fourteen days in August 1939, while a guest of Paul Sacher in Switzerland, shortly before World War II broke out.

Performer Biography

Candida Thompson has been the concertmaster of Amsterdam Sinfonietta since 1995 and its artistic director since 2003.

Performer Biography

Candida Thompson, the artistic director and concertmaster of Amsterdam Sinfonietta, studied with renowned pedagogue David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Compositional Technique

Brahms's String Quintet in G major, Opus 111, is performed by a full string orchestra on this album, which the performers believe transforms it into a 'symphony for strings'.