Ludwig van Beethoven Leonore Overture no. 2 in C major 72a
Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major op. 61
Sergei Prokofiev Violin Concerto no. 2 in G minor op. 63
Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor op. 47
Nicolas Bacri Capriccio for 3 violins and orchestra (World Premiere)
Conductor Constantinos Carydis / Violin Lisa Batiashvili (Prokofiev), Alina Pogostkina (Sibelius), Baiba Skride (Beethoven)

Three Stradivarius in Baden-Baden

July 4 will see the MCO returning to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with a new cast of young, internationally renowned soloists and conductor. Violinists Baiba Skride, Lisa Batiashvili, and Alina Pogostkina will join the MCO under the baton of Constantinos Carydis for an all-concerto programme.

This is a highly unusual concert format for the MCO—and, in fact, for any orchestra. But then again, the MCO, with its innovative structure, is no stranger to new ideas! The three soloists will each play a concerto of her choosing: Beethoven’s concerto in D major, a true classic of the repertoire, will be performed by Latvian violinist Baiba Skride, Prokofiev’s virtuosic 2^nd concerto will be performed by Georgian Lisa Batiashvili, and finally, Sibelius’ famed concerto in D minor will feature Alina Pogostkina from Russia. Each of these concerti is a musical triumph in its own right; all three in one concert will be a true violinistic tour-de-force. The evening will culminate in the world premiere of a piece written especially for the three soloists, young French composer Nicolas Bacri’s “Capriccio for 3 Violins and Orchestra”: a unique opportunity to hear three Stradivarius violins played together.

The MCO will greet three new soloists in a new format in Baden-Baden; it will also take the stage with young Greek conductor Constantinos Carydis for the first time. Carydis, who studied in Munich, has conducted at the Theater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich and the Stuttgart State Opera, and has made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Opera de Lyon, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf/Duisburg and the Athens State Opera.

Though the collaborators for the programme are new to the orchestra, the venue is familiar and beloved: over the last nine years, the MCO has performed many concerts and operas at the famed Festspielhaus. Recent projects include the lauded production of Fidelio, directed by Chris Kraus and conducted by MCO founder Claudio Abbado, and a concert version of Der Freischütz under the baton of Thomas Hengelbrock. The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, founded in 1998, has quickly become one of the top concert and opera venues worldwide, welcoming international stars from all musical genres.