You are the artist-in-residence at the 2024 Bachfest. What does it mean to you to perform works by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, where he spent most of his career?
Being a Baroque violinist, it’s a very great honour for me to come to Leipzig and give concerts as the artist-in-residence. I love the atmosphere of the city, because you can really feel the presence of Bach everywhere.
In the opening concert, you’ll be performing Violin Concerto by Alban Berg. What makes this composition so unusual?
Berg didn’t set out to write a virtuoso concerto, but just to prove that even a twelve-tone composition could be deeply expressive. Added to this is the moving story behind the work’s genesis, which was written after the death of the 18-year-old Manon Gropius. The demands on the violinist are huge, there are a few almost »mathematical« passages, but then at the end there’s also this overwhelming quotation from a Bach chorale. I learned the concert back when I was a student, but in Leipzig it’s the first time I’ll be performing it in public.
In a chamber concerto with Leonardo García Alarcón you’ll be presenting a programme entitled »Bach before Bach«. What is the idea behind this concert?
We want to show what influences inspired Bach’s compositional style for violin. We’ll be combining works from the Italian and Austrian repertoire of the 17th century with early compositions by Bach.
Lastly, you’ll also be performing in three Bachfest Lounge concerts in the three composer houses, Bach, Mendelssohn and Schumann ...
I’m especially looking forward to those. One of the pieces I’ll be playing is the Chaconne from Bach’s Partita in D minor, in three different versions. Once in the original version, then in the versions by Schumann and Mendelssohn, both with a piano accompaniment. Being able to walk into the »living rooms« of these three outstanding composers is a one-of-a-kind experience; it’s further evidence of what an extraordinary city Leipzig is when it comes to music.
