Beethoven and Beyond María Dueñas, Wiener Symphoniker & Manfred Honeck

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 -1827): Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61:
• 1 van Beethoven, Dueñas: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: I. Allegro ma non troppo (Cadenza: Dueñas) 27:56
• 2 van Beethoven, Dueñas: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: II. Larghetto (Cadenza: Dueñas) 09:51
• 3 van 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:
• 4 Spohr: Symphonie Concertante for Violin, Harp and Orchestra in G Major, WoO 13: II. Adagio 04:49
• Eugène Ysaÿe (1858 - 1931): Berceuse, Op. 20:
• 5 Ysaÿe: Berceuse, Op. 20 05:11
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Havanaise, Op. 83, R. 202:
• 6 Saint-Saëns: Havanaise, Op. 83, R. 202 10:22
• Henryk Wieniawski (1835 - 1880): Légende, Op. 17:
• 7 Wieniawski: Légende, Op. 17 08:02
• Fritz Kreisler (1875 - 1962): 3 Old Viennese Dances:
• 8 Kreisler: 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:
• 9 Spohr: 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:
• 10 Ysaÿe: 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:
• 11 Saint-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:
• 12 Wieniawski: 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:
• 13 Kreisler: Cadenza (to Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61: I. Allegro ma non troppo) 04:00
• Total Runtime 01:39:44

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

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Booklet for Beethoven and Beyond