Graf Mourja (violin) and Natalia Gous (piano)

The Italian Suite from the ballet Pulcinella, written by Stravinsky in 1925, is an extraordinarily well-balanced work. This organic composition of episodes of the “sunniest” ballet that was to become the forerunner of Stravinsky’s neoclassicism recreates the nature of Italian carnivals with their traditional masked commedia dell’ arte performances. The protagonist of these al fresco street shows is the red-nosed Pulcinella, a magical figure combining features of Petrouchka and Don Giovanni. He oozes merriment – and at the same time he is melancholic, immersing himself in philosophical debate – and falls into reverie. The list of his amorous conquests could well rival that of the renowned Don Giovanni. Infuriated rivals made short work of him on several occasions, but Pulcinella never fails to rise again. The roguish adventures of this legendary character formed the basis for the ballet, and the atmosphere was assisted by the music of Pergolesi, a young composer of the early 18th century hailed as “Italy’s Mozart”, and other great men of the age whose unknown works were found and presented to Stravinsky by Sergei Diaghilev, friend, impresario and the inspiration for many inspired artistes of the time.
Nadezhda Kulygina

The life of Giuseppe Tartini was just as interesting, dazzling and full of events as his music, and the admiration of his contemporaries entirely deserved and timely. A rake, fencer, failed priest and lawyer, in a difficult period of his youth he succeeded in reinventing himself and became a brilliant composer, violinist, theoretician and teacher whom delighted contemporaries named “the teacher of nations”. Tartini elevated the art of the violin to a new level and influenced such composers as Vivaldi, Boccherini and Mozart.
With his exceptional capacity for work and his determination, Tartini left behind more than three hundred and fifty pieces of music. Most of these were written for the violin. The famous Devil’s Trill sonata (the programme title is linked with the composer’s story of how the Devil appeared to him and played the violin in an extremely virtuoso manner) formed the “start of an era in violin performing (Vladimir Odeoevsky).
Some music historians consider that the first version of the sonata was written by Tartini when in his youth and that he subsequently perfected it over many years, ultimately creating a work that may be regarded as his artistic credo.

A native of the Ukrainian provinces, it was literally from his very first steps that Karol Szymanowski drew attention to his music and his personality, which blended together the talents of a composer, pianist, teacher, musical and cultural figure, critic and writer. Today his name is inextricably linked with the history of Polish music as one of the most important after Chopin.
Some historians (who admit, apropos, the conditional and schematic nature of such time-compartmentalisation) split the career of Karol Szymanowski into three stages: “Romantic”, “Impressionist” and “folk”. Versions of three of Niccolò Paganini’s caprices for violin and piano which he composed in 1918 belong to Szymanowski’s “Impressionist” period. His original versions of the 19^th century Italian virtuoso violinist’s music are unique remakes in which Paganini’s fiery romanticism is blended together with the distinctive ideas regarding harmony of the Polish composer who lived and worked one century later.

If one had to describe the music of Johannes Brahms using just one word, then best of all would be the word “noble”. Surprisingly, many of the great composer’s contemporaries, while admiring his art never saw that this gloomy misanthrope and grumbler – which he was exposed by his music – subtle, clever and refined. Through the sounds he used in his “aesthetically legitimate conservatism” (Carl Dahlhaus), Brahms, like no other, was able to express passion without strain and show the inexhaustible depths of the human soul.
As a major symphonist of the latter half of the 19^{th century, Brahms wrote relatively little for the violin. His one Violin Concerto and three sonatas for violin and piano are of tremendous artistic import and form part of the repertoire of every established musician.}

^{Carmen is one of the most deadly and stunning female characters in both literature and in music. She destroys the lives of more than one man. Even Georges Bizet felt his spirits fall, was ill and nearly died following the disastrous premiere of his comic opera Carmen.
However, having initially considered to believe the woman to be from the very dregs of society unworthy of being the heroine of an opera, the public soon replaced their wrath with compassion – she was so unlike anyone else and both Carmen herself and Bizet’s music were utterly beautiful.
The vivid image of the freedom-loving woman continues to inspire men to great achievements. Some have made films about her, others have written musical fantaisies using the music composed by Georges Bizet and yet more have performed these works that demand incredible virtuoso skill and fearless bravery on the part of the artist.
In Carmen Fantasy by the Oscar-winning Franz Waxman – the composer of music for films and vocal, orchestral and chamber works – the violin does not only tell the story of Carmen. It is Carmen. Fateful, crafty, tempting, passionate, captivating, proud, beautiful, a woman of melody and a woman of Fate. Now gently merges with the next, now exploding like a mad firework, each theme in the work lays bare these characteristic traits of the unforgettable heroine of Bizet’s opera.
Svetlana Nikitina}