Russian Violin Concertos

Many of you will probably wonder why I chose these violin concertos in particular for my first CD. To be perfectly honest, it was more a matter of coincidence, together with an idea of Yakov Kreizberg’s, that led to the compilation of this programme. We met in October 2003 in Philadelphia, where we were performing Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto; and as we enjoyed working together on the music so much, we immediately started looking for a chance to record this wonderful work. After it was settled that the Russian National Orchestra would work on this recording, I felt immediately inspired to add a further two Russian concertos to the programme.

Ever since I was small, I had always wanted to play in Moscow: my greatest example had always been David Oistrach. When I first entered the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, I became aware of the atmosphere that has dominated this building for decades now – only the music counts, only the search for the hidden meaning of a work. Yakov Kreizberg is a musician for whom precisely this task of interpretation is what matters. That is what made working with him so unique and incomparable, and therefore I am delighted to have been able to record my first CD with him.

Julia Fischer 7/2004 
English translation: Fiona J. Stroker-Gale