A Fresh Take on Beethoven

The multi-faceted beauty of the strings is this concert’s theme, but the focus is on a cornerstone of the violin repertoire, Beethoven’s astoundingly beautiful concerto. This work initially shocked listeners in the 1800s and then fell into obscurity, but it was revived by 13-year-old prodigy Joseph Joachim in 1844. Zhu, who is LMP’s Artist-in-Residence, brings her own youthful virtuosity to this profound and lyrical work and, in conversation with Suganandarajah before the performance, she demonstrates why it occupies an exalted place in the musical firmament. Mozart’s Paris Symphony is likewise full of the exuberance of youth. The 22-year old Mozart’s magnificent and swaggeringly confident crowd-pleaser promises to blow away any post-Christmas cobwebs. Coleridge-Taylor’s enchanting African Dances, arranged for solo violin and chamber orchestra by George Morton, exploits both the lyrical and virtuosic qualities of the violin – a treat for newcomers to this work. The concert opener, Jessie Montgomery’s Strum, is full of pizzicato and rhythmic vitality, with enough warmth and dance-like spirit to perk up even the darkest of Januarys.