Mendelssohns 'Italiaanse' en sterviolist Elli Choi speelt Paganini

Mendelssohn's 'Italian'

When the young Felix Mendelssohn undertook his 'grand tour,' the cultural journey that turned nineteenth-century adolescents into men, he was deeply impressed by everything he saw and experienced. He found Scotland and Italy, in particular, so overwhelming that he incorporated his impressions into two symphonies. The Fourth Symphony , the 'Italian,' bursts with the youthful exuberance that Mendelssohn must have felt in cultural centers such as Florence, Rome, and Venice, and in the beautiful Italian countryside. Mendelssohn combined this fresh energy with an innate talent for depth. As a result, it remains one of Mendelssohn's most beloved pieces.

Elli Choi plays Paganini

The young American violinist Elli Choi has won several violin competitions, where the juries were impressed by her immense musicality and strong technique. She will need these in Paganini's unprecedentedly virtuosic First Violin Concerto . Nicolò Paganini was the rock star of the eighteenth century. He impressed his audience with unparalleled virtuosity. This can be heard in his First Violin Concerto . At the same time, the piece abounds in lyrical bel canto melodies that betray the influence of Paganini's compatriot and contemporary Rossini.