Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 - Hindemith: Violin Concerto Alexandra Tirsu, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Vasily Petrenko

• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 77:
• 1 Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 77: Nocturne. Moderato 14:16
• 2 Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 77: Scherzo. Allegro 06:22
• 3 Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 77: Passacaglia. Andante - Cadenza 15:21
• 4 Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 77: Burlesque. Allegro con brio - Presto 04:55
• Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963): Violin Concerto:
• 5 Hindemith: Violin Concerto: I. Mäßig bewegte Halbe 09:46
• 6 Hindemith: Violin Concerto: II. Langsam 11:07
• 7 Hindemith: Violin Concerto: III. Lebhaft 11:28
• Total Runtime 01:13:15

Info for Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 - Hindemith: Violin Concerto

Violinist Alexandra Tirsu presents her debut album comprising concertos by Dmitri Shostakovich and Paul Hindemith. Shostakovich's music has resonated with her since childhood, its atmosphere reflecting the war stories she grew up with. Violin Concerto No. 1 unfolds like a psychological journey--from a shadowy opening to a fierce scherzo, an emotionally charged passacaglia, and a wildly ironic finale. Hindemith's rarely performed Violin Concerto, which Alexandra first explored at the ARD Competition in Munich, reveals a different voice: clear, structured, and quietly expressive. Recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vasily Petrenko, this album captures a moment of depth, identity, and emotional connection through two powerful 20th-century works.

Alexandra Tirsu, violin
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor

Alexandra Tirsu
is a violinist recognised internationally for her expressive artistry and award-winning performances. 3rd prize and audience-award winner of the prestigious 2021 ARD Competition, the young Moldovan violinist Alexandra Tirsu, who completed her undergraduate studies with Pavel Vernikov in Vienna and Janine Jansen in Sion, is fast gaining recognition as one of the leading violinists of her generation.

A laureate of the 2018 Seoul International Music Competition and 2014 Osaka International Competition, her performances have garnered critical acclaim in publications such as The Strad, Classical Music Magazine, and Süddeutsche Zeitung, among many others.

Her 2022/23 season included collaborations with Sol Gabetta, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Kirill Troussov, Ioana Cristina Goicea, and Richard Galliano, as well as orchestral engagements with the London Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Kiev Virtuosi Orchestra, Pilsen Philharmonic, Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic (with immediate re-invitation), the Orquesta Fimarmónica Marchigiana, Incheon Philharmonic and Orquesta Vigo 430. Additionally, she has also performed at the Solsberg Festival, the Crans Montana Classics Festival and Sion Music Festival.

The 2023/24 seasons brings Alexandra to Seoul, Korea, where she makes her debut with the celebrated Korean Chamber Orchestra, the Residence Hall as well her debut in the Isar Philharmonie (Munich) with the Bavarian Youth Orchestra playing Britten Violin Concerto, and Romanian Athenaeum (Bucharest), alongside some of the other halls she has performed in the past seasons, including the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Herkules Saal and Prinzregententheater in Munich, the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle Hamburg, the Seoul Arts Center, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center and the Beijing Concert Hall.

She has performed under the baton of Semyon Bychkov, Ronald Zollman, Gabriel Bebeselea, Dmitri Jurowsky, among others, and have collaborated with musicians such as Ivry Gitlis, Michael Guttman, Daishin Kashimoto, Alexander Chaushian, Friedrich Thiele, Razvan Popovici, Uto Ughi, Diemut Poppen, Boris Brovtsyn, Vladmir Landsmann, Svetlana Makarova, Levon Chilingirian and Kyril Zlontnikov. An advocate of bringing violin music to wider audiences, she regularly collaborates with the celebrated music-comedy duo Igudesman & Joo.

Alexandra plays the 1717 “Reifenberg” Stradivari, on generous loan through The Stradivari Society. She has been a Thomastik-Infeld artist since 2021.

Booklet for Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 - Hindemith: Violin Concerto