KOLJA BLACHER, violin / direct
BÉLA BARTÓK: Divertimento
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 1, Op. 21, C major
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto, Op. 61, D major
Violin concertos had been written for nearly a century before Beethoven turned to the genre, but his only contribution to this repertory proved to be a landmark. Not only was it longer and more complex than any previous work of its kind, but in symphonic thought and expansiveness it eclipsed all predecessors. It is still considered one of the most exalted of all concertos for any instrument. Kolja Blacher, former concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, comes to Taipei wearing two hats, one as a soloist, the other as a orchestra leader. He combines both talents in the Beethoven concerto, preceded by the same composer’s First Symphony and Bartók’s carefree, diverting Divertimento, “almost Mozartean in its buoyancy,” as one commentator described it.