Sibelius and Tchaikovsky

Sibelius's violin concerto is now the most performed of all violin concertos from the 20th century. Yet its musical language belongs to the late 19th century, and the music is warm and lyrical, dramatic and melancholic. Sibelius, himself a violinist, possibly wrote the concerto he himself would have wanted to play – albeit on a technical level far beyond his own. In this way, the violin concerto can be seen as a farewell to the youthful dreams of a career as a violin virtuoso. It is among the more challenging in the genre, as many violinists have attested.

Taking on the challenge is the young award-winning violinist Maria Ioudenitch. In 2021, she won first prize in the prestigious Ysaÿe International Music Competition and the same year also the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition. Maria Ioudenitch was born in Russia but moved to the USA with her family at the age of two.

Tchaikovsky composed his fifth symphony during a few summer months in 1888. He had complained about a lack of inspiration in the spring: "Am I burned out? No ideas, no desire?" But the fifth became a vital, emotionally charged, and in many respects brilliant symphony. It premiered under the composer's direction at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in November of the same year.

The concert opens with the Swedish composer Andrea Tarrodis's Liguria, music that takes us on a journey between five small fishing villages clinging to the cliffs along Italy's northwest coast.

Read more about chief conductor Ryan Bancroft