Hadelich plays Brahms

German-American violinist Augustin Hadelich brought the house down with his performance of Sibelius' Violin Concerto at the ISO's 70th anniversary concert in 2020. Now he returns with Johannes Brahms' magnificent, passionate, and often heartrending Violin Concerto. Hadelich has established himself as one of the world's finest violinists in recent years. In 2016 he won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo, and in 2018 he was named Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America. Augustin Hadelich plays a violin made by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù in 1744.

The programme concludes with Brahms' Symphony no. 4, as ISO's Principal Guest Conductor, Bertrand de Billy, completes his cycle of Brahms symphonies. In his final symphony, which was also one of his last orchestral works, Brahms takes a backward glance, particularly at the Baroque period. The symphony begins with a tender and gentle yet poignant theme, and the composer then leads us through the work in an exceptionally lyrical fashion until we reach the fourth movement, a passacaglia featuring thirty variations on an eight-chord progression adapted from Johann Sebastian Bach's cantata BWV 150, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (For Thee, O Lord, I long).