Gidon Kremer and Andris Nelsons

The recording of Schnittke’s Violin Concerto No. 4 will be ready for broadcast in time for Gidon Kremer’s 75th birthday in February 2022.

Many composers dedicate their works to important people or quite often to the musicians premiering them. In his Violin Concerto No. 4, Alfred Schnittke not only prefaced the piece with the dedication to the premiering soloist Gidon Kremer. He also put this dedication into music and placed it at the very beginning of the concerto with two variations that are known as the "Kremer theme" and appear frequently over the course of the concerto. In December 2021, Gidon Kremer will perform this concerto for the first time at the Leipzig Gewandhaus under the musical direction of fellow Latvian Andris Nelsons. It will be ready for broadcast in time for the violinist’s 75th birthday in February 2022!

In addition to the violin concerto, Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester will perform Peter Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1 whose title "Winter Dreams" predestines it to be performed in December and which thus musically rings at the end of the year. With its rich melodies, the symphony was already a great success at its premiere on February 3, 1868 in wintry Moscow.

Mieczysław Weinberg
Jewish Rhapsody op. 36/2
Premiere Performance (ca. 10 min)

Alfred Schnittke
Concerto No. 4 for Violin and Orchestra (ca. 35 min)

Peter Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 1 in G minor op. 13 "Winter Dreams" (ca. 41 min)

Gidon Kremer, violin
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Andris Nelsons, conductor

A production of Accentus Music in co-production with MDR and in co-operation with Arte.

Production Company Accentus Music GmbH
Co-Production Company MDR
Assoc. Prod. Company Arte
Executive Producer Paul Smaczny
TV Director Ute Feudel
Orchestra / Band Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Soloist Gidon Kremer
Conductor Andris Nelsons
Composer Alfred Schnittke
Composer Mieczysław Weinberg
Composer Peter Tchaikovsky