Strings in Spring

Les Dissonances is a collective of artists founded by violinist David Grimal in 2004. The conductorless ensemble consists of musicians from the most prestigious European orchestras, international soloists, and young talents. In this performance, Les Dissonances perform Johannes Brahms’ String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18. The work is scored for two violins, two violas, and two cellos. Brahms wrote his only two string sextets at the very beginning of his career. String Sextet No. 1 was written in 1860. Brahms was one of the first to compose for this ensemble, blazing a trail for Antonín Dvořák, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Arnold Schoenberg, and others. This performance was recorded at Opéra de Dijon, France, in 2013.

Les Dissonances is a collective of artists founded by violinist David Grimal in 2004. The conductorless ensemble consists of musicians from the most prestigious European orchestras, international soloists, and young talents. In this performance, Les Dissonances’ string quartet – consisting of David Grimal (violin), Hans Peter Hofmann (violin), David Gaillard (viola), and Xavier Phillips (cello) – performs Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887, Op. 161. Schubert composed this work, his final string quartet, in a mere ten days in June 1826. However, this highly original piece, characterized by its restless shifts between major and minor, was not published until after Schubert’s death in 1851. This performance was recorded at Cité de la Musique in Paris, France, in 2014.

Les Dissonances is a collective of artists founded by violinist David Grimal in 2004. The conductorless ensemble consists of musicians from the most prestigious European orchestras, international soloists, and young talents. In this performance, Les Dissonances play Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61. Leading violinist Grimal is the soloist. Beethoven’s Violin Concerto was composed in 1806 and is the composer’s only work in this genre. Its premiere was not very successful, and the work saw few performances in the decades that followed. However, a remarkable performance by 12-year old violinist Joseph Joachim in 1844 gave the Violin Concerto a new lease of life. Ever since, it is one of the most performed works in the genre. As an encore, Grimal performs the Allegro from J. S. Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003. This performance was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris, France, in 2015.

Russian-born maestro Dmitri Jurowski leads the Novaya Rossiya State Symphony Orchestra in this wonderful concert recorded at International Cello Festival ‘Vivacello’ in 2020. The concert features performances by established cellists Denis Shapovalov and Boris Andrianov, as well as Ekaterina Mochalova, who plays the domra, a string instrument of the lute family. On the program are Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for two cellos, strings and basso continuo; contemporary composer Efrem Podgaits’ Rendezvous for cello, domra and orchestra; Édouard Lalo’s Concerto for cello and orchestra; Podgaits’ ‘Cantabile triste’; and rock musician Pavel Karmanov’s ‘Musica con cello’, for cello and orchestra. This performance was recorded at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, on November 18, 2020.