Orchestre de chambre de Paris
Antje Weithaas | violin and direction
Violinist and conductor Antje Weithaas takes us from tragedy to joy with Haydn, Hartmann, and Brahms.
Haydn Symphony No. 44 Trauer
Hartmann Funeral Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Brahms Serenade Op. 11
Music can make us laugh or cry without the need for words. Haydn was aware of this and wanted the Adagio from his Symphony No. 44 to be played at his funeral. This wish was not fulfilled, but the movement was performed several months later at a memorial service. Hartmann initially viewed his Concerto funèbre for violin and string orchestra, given here in tribute to Lars Vogt, as a requiem. It was a response to the annexation of Czechoslovakia by the Third Reich, and he finished it as the German army invaded Poland. He revised it in 1959, thus demonstrating his attachment to this “sombre and despairing” work. By Contrast, Brahm’s mood was joyful when he composed his first Serenade (1858), although the slow movement is clouded by moments of nostalgia.
Production Orchestre de chambre de Paris
