Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto; Rococo Variations Nemanja Radulovic, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, Sascha Goetzel and Double Sens

• Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893):
• 1 Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Major, Op. 35, TH 59: 1. Allegro moderato 18:45
• 2 Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Major, Op. 35, TH 59: 2. Canzonetta. Andante 06:32
• 3 Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Major, Op. 35, TH 59: 3. Finale. Allegro vivacissimo 09:55
• 4 Variations On A Rococo Theme, Op.33, TH.57 - Arr. By Yvan Cassar: Moderato quasi Andante 00:50
• 5 Variations On A Rococo Theme, Op.33, TH.57 - Arr. By Yvan Cassar: Tema. Moderato semplice 01:22
• 6 Variations On A Rococo Theme, Op.33, TH.57 - Arr. By Yvan Cassar: Var. I. Tempo del Tema 00:44
• 7 Variations On A Rococo Theme, Op.33, TH.57 - Arr. By Yvan Cassar: Var. II. Tempo del Tema 01:05
• 8 Variations On A Rococo Theme, Op.33, TH.57 - Arr. By Yvan Cassar: Var. III. Andante sostenuto 03:34
• 9 Variations On A Rococo Theme, Op.33, TH.57 - Arr. By Yvan Cassar: Var. IV. Andante grazioso 01:52
• 10 Variations On A Rococo Theme, Op.33, TH.57 - Arr. By Yvan Cassar: Var. V. Allegro moderato 03:14
• 11 Variations On A Rococo Theme, Op.33, TH.57 - Arr. By Yvan Cassar: Var. VI. Andante 02:21
• 12 Variations On A Rococo Theme, Op.33, TH.57 - Arr. By Yvan Cassar: Var. VII. Allegro vivo 01:54
• Total Runtime 52:08

Info for Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto; Rococo Variations

After his exciting journey into the musical tradition of Eastern Europe (Journey East) and the Baroque sound-scapes of J.S. Bach (Bach), Nemanja Radulovic now turns his attention to the Russian master of the Romantic era, Tchaikovsky, excelling as violinist and (in an arrangement of the famed Rococo-Variations for viola and string ensemble) a violist.

Bringing together Tchaikovsky’s two most important works for solo strings and orchestra is bringing together the two most relevant poles of his life – Belgrade and Paris: The Rococo Variations are linked to the first part of his life, when he was a student in Belgrade before the Balkan war. At this time Nemanja not only used to play the violin, but also viola and sometimes the cello. Playing an arranged viola version of the Rococo variations which originally were composed for cello, takes him back to his musical childhood in Belgrade.

Yvan Cassar, who worked with Nemanja on Journey East has now produced compelling arrangements for strings and piano of the Rococo Variations. They provide a lightness and an energy that are perfectly suited for the neoclassical sound of Tchaikovsky’s music.

The Rococo Variations were recorded in Belgrade with ensemble Double Sens (French for: “double direction” & “double meaning”). The group reflects perfectly Nemanja’s dual past between Paris and Belgrade as it includes his former student-friends for Serbia, and his friends from the Conservatoire de Paris (including 2 members of the Fontanarosa family).

The Tchaikovsky concerto is linked to Nemanja’s arrival in Paris. He began to work on the concerto with his Conservatoire de Paris’ teacher Patrice Fontanarosa. Since then, this piece has been the concerto Nemanja has played most often during his career opening the doors to the great concert halls of the world like in Paris, London or Tokyo.

The concerto was recorded in Istanbul with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra and Sascha Goetzel, with which Nemanja feels he finds the freedom and mutual sprit to develop and express what is fundamentally important to him in the respective work.

2018 marks the 125th anniversary of the death of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893).

Nemanja Radulović, violin
Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra
Sascha Goetzel, conductor

Nemanja Radulovic
Serbian-French violinist Nemanja Radulović champions the power of music to bring people together with his unique energy and candour, thrilling virtuosity, depth of expression, and adventurous programming. His hotly-anticipated, ‘magical’ (Barry Creasy, musicOMH) BBC Proms debut in 2019 with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Kirill Karabits featured a Barber Violin Concerto whose ‘lyric delicacy and last-movement super-virtuosity were caught to near perfection’ (The Times).

Winner of the 2015 Echo Klassik Award for Newcomer of the Year, Radulović is an artist who seeks to broaden the boundaries of classical music and has amassed a legion of loyal fans around the world who have enjoyed his performances with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Munich Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony in Tokyo, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orquesta Nacional de España, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hanover, WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Belgian National Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Turin, Orchestra della Toscana, Tampere Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Copenhagen Phil, Geneva Camerata, Queensland Symphony, Macao Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, and the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa.

Signed as an exclusive recording artist to Warner Classics in 2021, Radulović’s recent and forthcoming highlights include an extensive European tour with the Russian State Academic Symphony and Andrey Boreyko; sold-out performances with his ensemble Double Sens at such celebrated festivals as the Folle Journée de Nantes and the Chorégies d’Orange; debut engagements with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Dusseldorf Symphony, RTE National Symphony in Dublin, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg; the season opening of the Jeunesse Musicale series at the Vienna Konzerthaus; a play/direct performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Munich Chamber Orchestra (resulting in an immediate re-invitation and on-going relationship with the ensemble); and a special collaboration with clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer, accordionist Ksenija Sidorova, and pianist Laure Favre-Kahn, performing to audiences at festivals across Germany, Switzerland and France.

Radulović has an equal passion for the intimacy of chamber music, and is an increasingly active recitalist on the international circuit. He has performed at such notable venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonie, both the Salle Pleyel and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Athens Megaron, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the Melbourne Recital Centre in Australia. His many recital partners include Marielle Nordmann, Laure Favre-Kahn, and Susan Manoff, the latter with whom he has also recorded a disc of Beethoven Sonatas released on the Decca/Universal Music label.

Radulović also regularly undertakes a play/direct role with his infectious, high-energy ensemble The Devil’s Trills – noted for their ‘immense purity, artistic force, passion, intimacy, and exquisite dynamic choices, leaving the audience in complete astonishment’ (Johannes Seifert, Augsburger Allgemeine) – and his chamber orchestra, Double Sens, which was recently celebrated for their recordings of Bach and Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as The 5 Seasons, a piece that combines Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with a new composition, Spring in Japan, by Aleksandar Sedlar and dedicated to the Japanese tsunami victims in 2011. Their other recent recordings include Paganini Fantasy (2013), Journey East (2014), BACH (2016), Tchaikovsky (2017), and most recently Baïka (2018).

Radulović’s recognition for his work in classical music includes International Revelation of the Year by the Victoires de la musique classique in 2005, an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Arts in Niš, Serbia, and an ELLE Style Award for Musician of the Year in 2015. He is the winner of several international violin competitions, such as Joseph Joachim in Hanover, George Enescu in Bucharest, and Stradivarius in Cremona.

Born in Serbia in 1985, Nemanja Radulović studied at the Faculty of Arts and Music in Belgrade, the Saarlandes Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Saarbrücken, the Stauffer Academy in Cremona with Salvatore Accardo, and the world-renowned Conservatoire de Paris with Patrice Fontanarosa.

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