CONCERT PROGRAMME
M. Bruch. Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
C. Saint-Saëns. Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and orchestra in A minor, Op. 28
L. van Beethoven. Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major (“Heroic”)
The Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, led by artistic director and chief conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius, presents an exceptional evening to the audience at the end of its 36th concert season – the Japanese violin star Akiko Suwanai, who has established herself in the world as one of the most sought-after artists of her generation, will perform in the LSSO Concert Hall. In 1990, the violinist won the prestigious international P. Tchaikovsky Competition and became its youngest winner ever – at that time she was only 18. During her career spanning more than three decades, A. Suwanai has performed with the highest-level symphony orchestras and conductors around the world, and also performs chamber music. The Berlin Philharmonic, Boston, London, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Tokyo NHK – these are just a few of the most famous symphony orchestras with which the violinist has performed. Having earned international recognition as a performer of the main violin repertoire, A. Suwanai, together with the publishing company “Universal Music”, released J. Brahms’s Sonata for Violin and Piano (2024) and the complete Sonatas and Partitas for Violin by J. S. Bach (2022). In 2012, the violinist founded the international music festival “Nippon” in Tokyo and became its artistic director. A. Suwanai plays a “Charles Reade” Guarneri del Gesu violin from the collection of Japanese collector and philanthropist Dr. Ryuji Ueno. In Vilnius, A. Suwanai will perform the First Violin Concerto by German Romantic composer Max Bruch (1838–1920). Soaring melodies, rich and passionate orchestration, devilishly difficult virtuoso violin passages – M. Bruch’s First Concerto has undoubtedly become one of the most famous works in the violin repertoire in the world. During the concert, A. Suwanai will also play another masterpiece of Romanticism – the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor for violin and orchestra by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921).
In the second part of the concert, the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius, will perform Ludwig van Beethoven's (1770–1827) Third Symphony. This is one of L. van Beethoven's most famous works, an innovative and revolutionary sign of the transition from Classicism to the Romantic era.