VFCO / TEODOR CURRENTZIS / MARC BOUCHKOV

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The size and solar energy of Brahms’s Violin Concerto make it an Icarus dream for all violinists. The furious torrent of arpeggios that accompanies its entrance in the first movement, the dreaded double-strings that litter the Finale composed in the gypsy style, and the bow science required by the divine slow movement have discouraged many. But Marc Bouchkov, the soloist in this concert, shares with conductor Teodor Currentzis a fierce temperament and a passion for originality that promise to make for a performance like no other.

Mendelssohn composed the ‘Italian’ Symphony on his return from a trip to Italy. The melodic genius of this work is matched by the intelligence of the orchestration, as in the second movement, where the timbre of the oboe blends with the strings in the middle register to create a song from far away. The Finale is just as flamboyant as Brahms’s, but its roots are Italian; at its heart is an incessant tarantella rhythm that puts the musicians of the orchestra to the test, testifying to the formidable improvement of orchestras that Mendelssohn both instigated and witnessed.