Peter Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto
October 13, 2010
Pjotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto in D Major, op. 35
Shlomo Mintz (violin)
Sinfonica Heliopolis
Conductor: Roberto Tibirica
MP3 recorded in the Beethoven Hall, Bonn, on October 4, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW)
The 80 members of Sinfonica Heliopolis come from the favelas, Brazil's poorest neighborhoods. The 13 to 24-year-olds receive their musical training at Sao Paulo's Instituto Baccarelli, located in the Heliopolis slum, which offers them not only social and professional prospects, but also helps them enjoy life.
The rather depressive Pjotr Tchaikovsky was often able to find hope and energy in music, and composing his Violin Concerto in particular helped him out of an extreme bout of depression. Writing to a friend at the time, he enthusiastically said: "The canzonetta is downright exquisite! What poetry and what yearning in these sons voiles, these mysterious notes!"
This violin concerto is full of emotion - stormy, exuberant, melancholy and filled with longing. Shlomo Mintz and the Sinfonica Heliopolis maintain a stormy, poetic dialogue with Tchaikovsky's work.
Author: Marita Berg (als)
Editor: Rick Fulker