Bruch: Violin Concerto Eldbjørg Hemsing, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra & Gergely Madaras

• Max Bruch (1838 - 1920): Violin Concerto No.1, Op.26:
• 1 Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1, Op.26: I. Vorspiel. Allegro moderato 08:03
• 2 Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1, Op.26: II. Adagio 07:56
• 3 Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1, Op.26: III. Finale. Allegro energico 07:04
• Romance, Op. 85:
• 4 Bruch: Romance, Op. 85 08:09
• In der Nacht, Op. 72:
• 5 Bruch: In der Nacht, Op. 72 (Arr. for Violin & Orchestra by Jan-Peter Klöpfel) 03:15
• Violin Concerto No.1, Op.26:
• 6 Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1, Op.26: II. Adagio (Short Edit) 04:02
• Total Runtime 38:29

Info for Bruch: Violin Concerto

Eldbjørg Hemsing continues her innovative musical journey with a celebrated concerto by Bruch—a composer who has accompanied her throughout her life. Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing is releasing her latest album, "Bruch: Violin Concerto", via Sony Classical.

Recorded with the Oslo Philharmonic under the baton of conductor Gergely Madaras, this album showcases Hemsing—an artist renowned for her inventive approach to repertoire—performing Max Bruch’s "Violin Concerto No. 1". The album also features the "Romance" and a new arrangement for solo violin and orchestra of the song "In the Night" ("In der Nacht").

Max Bruch (1838-1920) was a leading German Romantic composer celebrated for his beautiful melodies. A contemporary of Brahms, he is also known in Japan as the teacher of Kōsaku Yamada. His close associations with virtuoso violinists like Joseph Joachim and Pablo de Sarasate inspired the creation of numerous works for the instrument. True to his belief that "the violin can sing a melody more beautifully than the piano, and melody is the soul of music," "Violin Concerto No. 1" stands as a masterpiece that allows listeners to fully savor his unparalleled melodic gift.

This recording also represents the culmination of Hemsing’s lifelong engagement with this concerto, a work she has cherished since childhood. She first performed this work during her childhood with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and has continued to perform it throughout the years.

"Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 is a piece that has stayed with me throughout my life; I have grown alongside it. Over the years of engaging with this work, it has revealed a vast array of colors, emotions, and layers of meaning to me. Now, convinced that my interpretation has reached a stage worthy of recording, I set out to create this album."

Known for her expressive tone and superb technique, Hemsing places the concerto’s "singing" quality at the heart of her interpretation, vividly capturing the exquisite balance between the technical demands and rich musical expression characteristic of Bruch’s work.

Hemsing describes the movements as follows: "The first movement is filled with passion, longing, and anticipation, with the music unfolding like a conversation. The second movement is the very heart of the concerto; the melody sung there is among the most beautiful ever written for the violin. It overflows with tenderness and warmth, offering a sense of peace that transcends time. Finally, in the last movement, joy, energy, and brilliance are unleashed, leading to a festive, exhilarating climax."

The album also includes two additional works that allow listeners to delve deeper into Bruch’s lyrical musical world. *Romance* was originally composed for viola and orchestra; for this recording, a unique approach was taken by combining the violin part from the version arranged by Bruch himself with the original orchestral accompaniment. Remarkably, the violin part harmonizes perfectly with the original orchestral score without requiring any transposition. The album concludes with a new arrangement of Bruch’s song "In the Night" (*In der Nacht*) for violin and orchestra, created by Jan Peter Klöpfel. Klöpfel is a Hamburg-based trumpeter and arranger who also contributed to Hemsing’s previous album, *Colored Bach*, in both capacities.

Hemsing reflects: "Bruch had an astonishingly natural understanding of the violin. While this concerto demands great technical virtuosity, that technique always serves the music itself. That is precisely why the violin here does not merely dazzle with brilliance but is truly able to sing. Even after all these years, this concerto continues to move me deeply, reminding me once again of the very reasons I fell in love with this instrument."

Eldbjörg Hemsing, violin
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Gergely Madaras, conductor

Eldbjørg Hemsing
Norwegian violinist and Hardanger fiddler Ragnhild Hemsing moves naturally between classical repertoire and the folk music of her native Valdres. She began playing at the age of five, studied at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo and with Boris Kuschnir in Vienna, and made her orchestral debut at fourteen with the Bergen Philharmonic and Trondheim Symphony orchestras.

Her projects reveal the shared musical language of her two instruments. Vivaldi – The Norwegian Seasons, created with Barokkanerne, hears the Four Seasons through the ornamentation and rhythmic life of Norwegian folk music. Peer Gynt reconnects Grieg’s score with the traditional music that inspired it, while VETRA opens her Valdres roots to jazz and improvisation. Her Berlin Classics recordings include the Opus Klassik-winning Røta, Bruch + Tveitt, Peer Gynt, VETRA, The Norwegian Seasons and Unbound.

Hemsing co-founded the Hemsing Festival in Aurdal with her sister Eldbjørg in 2013. She plays Ole Bull’s historic Hardanger fiddle, Jordalsfela, and a Francesco Ruggeri violin made in Cremona in 1694, both on loan from Dextra Musica.

Gergely Madaras
is Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, a position he assumed in September 2019. He enjoys a flourishing collaboration with the orchestra, which includes multiple concert series in Liège and Bozar in Brussels, regular broadcasts on Mezzo TV, Medici TV, and RTBF, as well as a growing discography with Alpha Classics, Cyprés, and Nomad Play. He concluded his tenure as Music Director of the Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne in 2019 and as Chief Conductor of the Savaria Symphony Orchestra in his native Hungary in 2020, after six years with each ensemble.

Booklet for Bruch: Violin Concerto