Felix Mendelssohn & Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos

Featuring

Guido Sant’Anna
Thierry Fischer
Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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Composer Biography

Felix Mendelssohn was a polymath who was not only a composer, pianist, organist, violinist, and conductor, but also a talented writer and artist whose drawings and watercolours were admired even by Richard Wagner.

Instruments

Guido Sant'Anna performs on a violin made in 1874 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, which is generously lent to him by luthier Marcel Richters.

Critical Reception

The technical difficulties of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major led more than one violinist to turn down the chance to premiere it, and critic Eduard Hanslick reacted with hostility to its third movement.

Performer Biography

The São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (Osesp) is one of Latin America's most significant symphonic groups, having undertaken 14 international tours, recorded over 100 albums, and debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2022.

Performer Biography

Guido Sant'Anna, born in 2005, became the first South American violinist to win the prestigious Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition in 2022.

Composition History

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor was conceived for his childhood friend Ferdinand David, whom Mendelssohn had appointed leader of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester.

Composition History

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major was composed in Clarens, Switzerland, where he sought refuge after his disastrous marriage, and was inspired by playing Lalo's Symphonie espagnole with his student Iosif Kotek.