Beethoven and Beyond María Dueñas, Wiener Symphoniker & Manfred Honeck

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 -1827): Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61:
• 1van Beethoven, Dueñas: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: I. Allegro ma non troppo (Cadenza: Dueñas)27:56
• 2van Beethoven, Dueñas: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: II. Larghetto (Cadenza: Dueñas)09:51
• 3van Beethoven, Dueñas: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: III. Rondo. Allegro (Cadenza: Dueñas)11:54
• Louis Spohr (1784 - 1859): Symphonie Concertante for Violin, Harp and Orchestra in G Major, WoO 13:
• 4Spohr: Symphonie Concertante for Violin, Harp and Orchestra in G Major, WoO 13: II. Adagio04:49
• Eugène Ysaÿe (1858 - 1931): Berceuse, Op. 20:
• 5Ysaÿe: Berceuse, Op. 2005:11
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Havanaise, Op. 83, R. 202:
• 6Saint-Saëns: Havanaise, Op. 83, R. 20210:22
• Henryk Wieniawski (1835 - 1880): Légende, Op. 17:
• 7Wieniawski: Légende, Op. 1708:02
• Fritz Kreisler (1875 - 1962): 3 Old Viennese Dances:
• 8Kreisler: 3 Old Viennese Dances: No. 2, Liebesleid (Transcr. for Violin and Orchestra)03:41
• Louis Spohr: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61:
• 9Spohr: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: I. Allegro ma non troppo)01:21
• Eugène Ysaÿe: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61:
• 10Ysaÿe: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: I. Allegro ma non troppo)04:04
• Camille Saint-Saëns: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61:
• 11Saint-Saëns: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: I. Allegro ma non troppo)04:18
• Henryk Wieniawski: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61:
• 12Wieniawski: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: I. Allegro ma non troppo)04:15
• Fritz Kreisler: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61:
• 13Kreisler: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: I. Allegro ma non troppo)04:00
• Total Runtime01:39:44

Info for Beethoven and Beyond

On her debut album, the Spanish violinist María Dueñas presents one of the most musically demanding and profound works in the repertoire - Beethoven's Violin Concerto. "You can't show virtuosity in Beethoven's concerto, you can only show yourself," says María Dueñas. "And that can only be done through sound." Recorded in acclaimed performances with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck at the Vienna Musikverein, it opens her debut album Beethoven and Beyond. With her own newly written cadenzas for each movement, the recording introduces María Dueñas not only as a performer but also as a composer.

"Like a breath of fresh air," wrote a critic of the Spanish music journal Codalario after experiencing María Dueñas's cadenza in one of the performances at the Vienna Musikverein earlier this year, "revealed was her glorious sound, with double and triple stops, splendid trills and, for all its modernity, full of respect for the essence of Beethoven's music." Fascinated by the process of composing, Dueñas did not stop at writing and recording cadenzas for all three movements herself; she also recorded the cadenzas for the first movement from five other artists. Completely different approaches to the concerto by composers of different epochs and origins become clear: with a Mozartian touch, for example, as in the case of Spohr, a contemporary of Beethoven, or virtuoso as in the cadenza by the famous artist Kreisler, of technical refinement as in the case of Wieniawski and Ysaÿe or romantic as in the case of Saint-Saëns.

But that's not all, María Dueñas plays another work for violin and orchestra by each of the five. There are popular pieces among them - Kreisler's Liebesleid, Saint-Saëns' Havanaise and Wieniawski's Légende - and less familiar ones - the Adagio from Spohr's Symphonie concertante No. 1 and the Berceuse by Ysaÿe.

María Dueñas, who has been studying in Vienna for several years with the renowned professor Boris Kuschnir, won first prize at the International Viktor Tretyakov Violin Competition in September 2021 with her reading of Beethoven's Violin Concerto. "Beethoven's violin concerto has accompanied me in the most important moments of my life," says María Dueñas. "The move from Germany to Vienna on the recommendation of my mentor Maestro Vladimir Spivakov, my training and now the recording - Beethoven has always played a role." She is particularly pleased that she was able to record the work with Manfred Honeck, another of her mentors. "The mixture of élan and sensitivity of the Viennese by choice from Granada was just as enchanting as the focused, luminous tone of her violin." (Der Standard, on Dueñas's Beethoven performance at the Musikverein in January 2023)

"Duenas plays beautifully in sound; intimacy and sensitivity are the attributes that come to mind in her performance. Whether that is enough for an identification at any time, for a sound mark, each listener should decide for himself. But let's keep our feet on the ground: it's already a crazy thing to be able to get to know the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in stupendous top form and holiday mood in brilliant Cinemascope sound and, in addition, a fabulous debutante from whom we can still expect a lot. This is proven not least by the five extra numbers, where the soloist also puts her stylistic range up for discussion." (Dr. Ingobert Waltenberger, onlinemerker.com)

María Dueñas, violin
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck, conductor

María Dueñas
Spanish violinist María Dueñas beguiles audiences with the breathtaking array of colours she draws from her instrument. Her technical prowess, artistic maturity and bold interpretations have inspired rave reviews, captivated competition juries, and secured invitations to appear with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors.

María Dueñas has been studying with world-renowned Professor Boris Kuschnir at the Music and Arts University of Vienna for several years.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has hailed the “freedom and joyous individuality” of her playing, while The Strad described her rising-star status as “seemingly unstoppable” after she won a whole series of international violin competitions (the 2021 Grand Prix at the Viktor Tretyakov International Violin Competition, the Getting to Carnegie Hall Competition and the 2018 Vladimir Spivakov International Violin Competition, among others). Not least among this succession of triumphs was her livestreamed run to victory at the 2021 Menuhin Violin Competition, at which she won not only the first prize and audience prize, but also a global online following and the loan of a golden-period Stradivari from Jonathan Moulds’ private collection. The Rheingau Music Festival awarded her the career advancement prize, and the BBC Radio 3 named her “New Generation Artist 2021-23.”

On exclusive contract with the legendary Deutsche Grammophon since September 2022, Dueñas will release her debut album recorded live with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck at the Golden Hall in Musikverein, featuring Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and the violinist´s own cadenzas.

Last season, she gave her debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Oslo Philharmonic under Manfred Honeck, the San Francisco Symphony and the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra under Marek Janowski, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and Gustavo Gimeno, the Staatskapelle Berlin under Alain Altinoglu, the Orchestre de Paris and the Tonhalle Zürich with Paavo Järvi, the Lithuanian National Orchestra and Charles Dutoit, the Luzerner Symphony Orchestra and Michael Sanderling, The Galician Symphony Orchestra and Dima Slobodeniouk, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Domingo Hindoyan, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Alondra de la Parra, the BBC Scottish Symphony and Kevin Edusei or the Danish Symphony Orchestra, among others.

As dedicatee of Gabriela Ortiz´ violin Concerto “Altar de Cuerda” (2022), Dueñas caused international sensation upon its premiere at Walt Disney Concert Hall with Gustavo Dudamel and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, which would mark a fruitful artistic collaboration followed by electrifying musical moments at the 100th Hollywood Bowl Anniversary. Praised by The New York Times as “wholy captivating,” the concerto caused enthusiastic admiration after sold-out premieres at Carnegie Hall, Boston and the Cervantino Festival in Mexico.

A multi-faceted musician, Dueñas became fond of composing after she started writing cadenzas for Mozart´s violin concertos. A solo piano piece, Farewell, was awarded a prize in the 2016 “Von fremden Ländern und Menschen” Competition for Young Composers. Recorded by the pianist Evgeny Sinaiski, it was transformed into a music video filmed during the pandemic.

A dedicated chamber musician, María has performed with baritone Matthias Goerne and pianist Itamar Golan, among other artists. She has also premiered several works such as Julian Gargiulo´s Sonata and solo caprices dedicated to her by the late Catalan composer Jordi Cervelló. Born in Granada in 2002, María Dueñas moved to Dresden in 2014 after winning a scholarship to study abroad awarded by Juventudes Musicales Madrid and moved to Dresden to study at the Carl Maria von Weber College of Music.

Forthcoming highlights in the 2022-2023 season include a tour with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Gustavo Gimeno, with concerts at the Ottawa National Arts Centre, the Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Chicago and Carnegie Hall, her debut with Herbert Blomstedt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Richmond Symphony with Valentina Peleggi, invitations from the Detroit Symphony under Jader Bignamini, friendly reencounters with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra conducted by Manfred Honeck and her return to the NDR Elbphilharmonie under Alan Gilbert. Special collaborations will bring her to the Vienna Concert Hall with Kian Soltani and Patrick Hahn, to a Japanese concert tour with Pablo Ferrández, Suyoen Kim and Akira Eguchi, to the mythic Wigmore Hall in London with Julien Quentin and to La Grange au Lac Festival with Renaud Capuçon.

As a stipendiary of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, María Dueñas plays the Nicolò Gagliano violin of 17?4 and the Stradivarius “Camposelice” (1710), on generous loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

Booklet for Beethoven and Beyond