Op. 2 - Hartmann, Mendelssohn, Respighi, Schubert Sebastian Bohren

• Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809 – 1847): Violin Concerto in D Minor, MWV O 3:
• 1 I. Allegro 08:59
• 2 II. Andante 09:31
• 3 III. Allegro 04:17
• Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905 – 1963): Concerto funebre for Violin and String Orchestra:
• 4 I. Introduktion. Largo 01:47
• 5 II. Adagio 08:11
• 6 III. Allegro di molto 08:33
• 7 IV. Choral. Langsamer Marsch 04:40
• Ottorino Respighi (1879 – 1936): Antiche danze ed arie, Suite No. 3:
• 8 I. Italiana. Andantino 02:29
• 9 II. Arie di corte. Andante cantabile 06:50
• 10 III. Siciliana. Andantino 02:52
• 11 IV. Passacaglia. Maestoso 03:25
• Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828): Rondo for Violin and Strings in A Major, D. 438:
• 12 Rondo for Violin and Strings in A Major, D. 438 15:16
• Total Runtime 01:16:50

Info for Op. 2 - Hartmann, Mendelssohn, Respighi, Schubert

Sebastian Bohren plays concertos of Mendelssohn, Schubert, Respighi, and Hartmann Mendelssohn’s long-forgotten “little” violin concerto, presented in con- cert for the first time in 1952 by Yehudi Menuhin, was composed in 1822 – a year when the thirteen-year-old would write a total of twelve works. The young Mendelssohn is remarkable not only for his prodigious talent, but also for his extraordinary eagerness to learn. Eduard Devrient, the man of the theater who heard him play at his parents’ home, offers a vi- vid description of his humility: “We quickly noticed that the boy had very little personal vanity, and that his desire to learn, experience, try things out, and make progress for its own sake was most important to him by far.”

Two versions of the violin concerto, which followed each other in quick succession, have survived. Upon comparing them, we note the precision with which the teenager integrated new experiences into his composing. He makes small changes in the relationship between solo and orchestra and corrects many details in the violin part, notably enhancing the virtu- oso effect. Though no performance has been documented, the concerto was probably intended for the Sunday musical gatherings organized by Mendelssohn’s mother in their own house, where Felix had the privilege of testing out his first works in the hands of Berlin’s finest musicians. The lack of winds in the instrumentation, something already considered antiquated in the early 19th century, also suggests such a private setting.

Sebastian Bohren, violin
Chaarts Chamber Aartists

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 Op. 2 - Hartmann, Mendelssohn, Respighi, Schubert