Sibelius, Järnefelt, Szymanowski
Lea Birringer Violin

The atmospheric opening of Sibelius’s violin concerto transports the listener directly to the wide open, forested landscape of Finland. While it signalled farewell to Sibelius’s dream of becoming a virtuoso violinist, the concerto remains a supreme challenge to performers today.

Though simpler, Sibelius’ brother-in-law, Armas Järnefelt’s (1869–1958) Berceuse is equally touching and sentimental. Inspired by the sight of his two year old daughter sleeping, it was written in 1904, around the time when Sibelius’s Violin Concerto was originally completed.

Karol Szymanowski called his second violin concerto ‘horribly sentimental’, emblematic of the lush romantic style influenced by Richard Strauss, Stravinsky’s early ballets and of course, Polish traditional music particularly that of the Gorals in the highlands of Southern Poland.

Lea Birringer‘s impressive musicality has been acknowledged in numerous prizes and awards, including winning the Johannes Brahms International Violin Competition and a Rodolfo Lipizer Prize.