Antje Weithaas & Christian Tetzlaff

Each in turn plays the stars from the sky. When Christian Tetzlaff and Antje Weithaas share a stage, it feels as though you are in heaven. If, in your youth, you spent many sweaty, tear-stained hours scratching away at a violin, you will no doubt be familiar with the violin duos of Béla Bartók. Forty-four didactic practice pieces, gradually ascending in difficulty. These are more than just banal studies. All are fully-fledged miniatures that highlight the innovative aspects of Bartók's compositional style. Bartók's folklore pieces supply the necessary counter-balance to the other duos on the programme. At its heart are three violinists/composers from the so-called Franco-Belgian violin school. Starting with Jean-Marie Leclair, founder of the French violin school in the Baroque period. Charles-Auguste de Bériot laid the foundations for the Belgian branch in the Romantic period, which culminated in the legendary violin playing of Eugène Ysaÿe. All three were composers who knew how to coax both beauty and fire from the violin. Lyrical bel canto, pyrotechnical bravura, two violins that combine to sound like a miniature string orchestra. Christian Tetzlaff and Antje Weithaas do it all with the greatest of ease.