Fantasy and Fairy

American Joshua Bell is one of the world’s absolute leading and most coveted violinists. He made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of seventeen, but already by age fourteen he had been the soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Riccardo Muti. He has given several celebrated concerts at Konserthuset, most recently in 2018 as the soloist in Brahms’ Violin Concerto.

Now we hear him in a recital with pianist Shai Wosner, whose playing captivates audiences and international critics alike. Together, they present Brahms’ alluring Violin Sonata No. 2 – a piece in which the sense of joie de vivre never seems to dissipate. Significantly more dramatic is Schubert’s Fantasia, his last ever work for violin and piano.

Tchaikovsky’s heartfelt meditation on a beloved place was created in Clarens, Switzerland. It was a setting that he loved – and this was also where he composed his Violin Concerto. Stravinsky’s playful, dancing Divertimento is his own reworking of ballet music for The Fairy’s Kiss, which is in fact based on a piece by Tchaikovsky.