Nationaal Orkest van België . Walter Weller

Vadim Repin is one of the greatest violin virtuosos of our time. His playing is powerful, his musical interpretation brims with self-confidence, and with his highly exceptional technical baggage, he doesn't shy away from any musical challenge. Brahms' Violin Concerto becomes a spectacular firework display! Absurd, but sympathetic. János Garay's humorous epic poem from 1843 caught the affection of Zoltán Kodály. The chief protagonist in the poem, Háry János, may well have existed, but as a simple soldier he never took Napoleon prisoner, nor refused the hand of the Emperor's daughter. 'Háry János simply told a fairy tale, and people just love it', said Kodály. Zemlinsky's 'Sinfonietta' is the complete opposite. It is a reaction to the almost absurd events that occurred after the Nazis' first political victories of 1934. In Zemlinsky's most virtuosic score, we hear the exuberance of the joy of life and the fear of dying alternate at a raging speed.