About the Concert

Of the violin concertos of the 20th century, Alban Berg's is probably the most moving, Arnold Schoenberg's the most monumental. Schoenberg's concerto had a hard time at first: the great violinist Jascha Heifetz rejected it as unplayable. Yet it was written for him and he was considered THE violin virtuoso of his time. It is indeed very difficult for the soloist, but as with so much that is truly beautiful, it opens up when you surrender to it. Patricia Kopatchinskaja loves the work, its romantic and expressive features, but also its gruff passages, and plays it again and again with great passion.
"To the memory of an angel" - with the somewhat enigmatic dedication of his violin concerto, Alban Berg referred to Manon Gropius, the daughter of Alma Mahler-Werfel and Walter Gropius. She died of polio at the age of 19 - her death shook Viennese society. Berg succeeded in creating a deeply moving musical portrayal of the young woman, her dreams, her traits and her unfulfilled desires. Patricia Kopatchinskaja dedicates the concert to the American violinist Louis Krasner, who commissioned the work from Berg.