La Folia – Sebastian Bohren Sebastian Bohren

• Fritz Kreisler (1875 - 1962): Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Pugnani (arr. for violin and strings by Manuel Naegeli):
• 1 Kreisler: Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Pugnani (arr. for violin and strings by Manuel Naegeli) 05:56
• Tomaso Antonio Vitali (1663 - 1745): Chaconne in G Minor (arr. for violin and strings by Peter Petrof, after Léopold Charlier):
• 2 Vitali: Chaconne in G Minor (arr. for violin and strings by Peter Petrof, after Léopold Charlier) 10:51
• Maria Theresa von Paradis (1759 - 1824): Sicilienne (arr. for violin and strings by Mariana Rudakevych):
• 3 Paradis: Sicilienne (arr. for violin and strings by Mariana Rudakevych) 03:27
• Arcangelo Correli (1653 - 1713): Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 5 No. 12 "La Folia" (arr. for violin and strings by Mariana Rudakevych, after Hubert Léonard; cadenza by Hubert Léonard):
• 4 Correli: Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 5 No. 12 "La Folia" (arr. for violin and strings by Mariana Rudakevych, after Hubert Léonard; cadenza by Hubert Léonard) 11:28
• Ottorino Respighi (1879 - 1936): Pastorale in A Major, P. 86 (after Giuseppe Tartini):
• 5 Respighi: Pastorale in A Major, P. 86 (after Giuseppe Tartini): I. Grave 03:41
• 6 Respighi: Pastorale in A Major, P. 86 (after Giuseppe Tartini): II. Allegro sostenuto 02:30
• Giuseppe Respighi (1840 - 1923), Ottorino Resiphi: Pastorale in A Major, P. 86 (after Giuseppe Tartini):
• 7 Respighi, Resiphi: Pastorale in A Major, P. 86 (after Giuseppe Tartini): III. Largo 04:18
• Giuseppe Tartini (1692 - 1770): Violin Sonata in G Minor, GT 2.g05 "Devil's Trill":
• 8 Tartini: Violin Sonata in G Minor, GT 2.g05 "Devil's Trill" : I. Andante (arr. for violin and strings by Ingolf Turban and Holger Frey; cadenza: F. Kreisler) 04:17
• 9 Tartini: Violin Sonata in G Minor, GT 2.g05 "Devil's Trill" : II. Allegro (arr. for violin and strings by Ingolf Turban and Holger Frey; cadenza: F. Kreisler) 03:06
• 10 Tartini: Violin Sonata in G Minor, GT 2.g05 "Devil's Trill" : III. Andante – Allegro assai (arr. for violin and strings by Ingolf Turban and Holger Frey; cadenza F. Kreisler) 07:46
• Fritz Kreisler: Variations on a Theme of Corelli in the Style of Tartini (arr. for violin and strings by Mariana Rudakevych):
• 11 Kreisler: Variations on a Theme of Corelli in the Style of Tartini (arr. for violin and strings by Mariana Rudakevych) 03:48
• Total Runtime 01:01:08

Info for La Folia – Sebastian Bohren

Sebastian Bohren’s new album La folia is an affectionate homage – to Ida Haendel, one of his heroes; to fiddlers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; and to the violin itself. The Swiss violinist says, “It is also like a hall of mirrors, as some tracks invoke the spirits of two or three violinists.” From an early age, Sebastian was immersed in a lineage of violinists who favoured Romantic transcriptions of Baroque repertoire, studying with a pupil of the great Ukranian-born violinist Nathan Milstein. Later in life, he fell under the influence of violinist Ida Haendel on YouTube, watching her perform Corelli’s La folia variations. “She played this amazing virtuoso cadenza, and I was captivated.” So arose the concept of a programme reflecting the ethos of La folia, the ear-catching theme which has fascinated composers for centuries, from the Baroque era’s Tomaso Antonio Vitali and Giuseppe Tartini to latter-day Ottorino Respighi and Fritz Kreisler. Sebastian captures the sound world with sincerity, playing on two different violins, the 1710 “King George” Stradivarius, and a Guadagnini made in 1761.

Sebastian Bohren, violin
Stringendo Zürich
Jens Lohmann, conductor
CHAARTS Chamber Artists (tracks 4-11)

Sebastian Bohren
With his powerfully expressive and deeply felt playing Sebastian Bohren has established an enviable reputation for himself as one of the most promising and talented violinists of his generation. Among the venues where he has performed to date are the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Munich Residenz, the Zurich Tonhalle and the Lucerne Culture and Conference Centre. He has appeared as a soloist with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the St Petersburg Staatskapelle, the Orchestra di Padova, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Georgian Chamber Orchestra of Ingolstadt, the Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic and the Zurich Camerata under conductors of the eminence of Muhai Tang, James Gaffigan, Patrick Lange and Heinrich Schiff. In 2017 he gives five concerts with the Argovia Philharmonic performing Brahms’s Double Concerto with the Swiss cellist Chiara Enderle. He will also perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in the Zurich Tonhalle and conduct the Berne Chamber Orchestra for the first time in a programme of works by Astor Piazzolla. He will also be touring with the CHAARTS Ensemble and the gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos. Plans include concerts with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Winterthur Musikkollegium, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Zurich Camerata and the Georgian Chamber Orchestra.

2018 he will make his debut at the Lucerne Festival.

In 2016 RCA released his recording of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the CHAARTS Ensemble. Well received by the press, their partnership continues in March 2017 with the release of a new CD "op.2" featuring works for violin and strings by Mendelssohn, Hartmann and Schubert. Other recording plans for 2017 include Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas BWV 1003–5 and the violin concertos of Mendelssohn and Britten with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Andrew Litton.

Sebastian Bohren is a member of the Stradivari Quartet. Each year they give some forty concerts that take the four musicians all over the world. In 2017, for example, they will present a Beethoven cycle in Singapore’s Victoria Hall as well as on tour in Japan and China, the latter as part of the Beijing Music Festival. In September 2017 they will appear in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Highlights of recent seasons include performances at the Seoul Arts Center, Shanghai’s Symphony Hall, Beijing’s National Center for Performing Arts, the Rheingau Music Festival, the Bad Kissingen Summer Festival and the Rubinstein Piano Festival. The members of the Stradivari Quartet regularly work with leading orchestras in Asia, including the Singapore Symphony, the Shanghai Philharmonic and the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra. In 2015 they released a recording of Mozart’s “Prussian” Quartets and in March 2017 recorded Robert Schumann’s string quartets.

Sebastian Bohren lives in Zurich and continues to feel a close attachment to his native Aargau. In 2015 the Aargau Committee awarded him a twelve-month scholarship and in the summer of that year he was the featured artist at the Boswil Summer Festival. He successfully runs his own concert series, Stretta Concerts, in Brugg. His first CD was released in 2015 and features Ignace Pleyel’s rarely performed Violin Concerto in D major.

Sebastian Bohren was born in 1987 and completed his schooling at the Arts and Sports Grammar School in Rämibühl. His violin teacher was Jens Lohmann. He went on to study with Zakhar Bron, Robert Zimansky, Igor Karsko and Ingolf Turban in Zurich, Lucerne and Munich and has received additional support and encouragement from Ana Chumachenco, Heinrich Schiff and Hansheinz Schneeberger.

Sebastian Bohren plays on a violin by G.B.Guadagnini ("Ex-Wannamaker-Hart", Parma 1767) on loan from a private collector.

Booklet for La Folia – Sebastian Bohren