One of the greatest virtuosos of the last century, Ruggiero Ricci, once said to me: „a violinist is a violinist if they play Bach and Paganini !“ he was referring to the works for solo violin.
Although I can think of numerous exceptional players who keep away from both, his comment back then fascinated, and always stayed with me. Maestro Ricci knew what he was talking about, no other violinist played more concerts completely alone on stage.
Considering playing the violin involves touching at least four different kinds of wood, brushing horsehair over four strings made out of sheep gut (in the old days), you might say that the fiddle has a pretty close association with nature. Paganini was said to be able to imitate different kinds of birds and other animals with his violin. Could it be myths like these, or the beauty of shape and varnish of the instruments made by legends like Stradivari, the repertoire, the gangster stories we think of when spotting a classic formed violin case, that make the violin possibly the most fascinating and popular of all instruments? I, Daniel Röhn, always up for a good tale around fiddle and fiddlers, invite you to come close .. until you can almost hear the violin breathe.. for it is alive, its wood moves.. perhaps this is why we usually get a bit sad when we see one locked up in a museum behind glass. It is a living thing and must be free and played, otherwise she dies... alone. But not on My watch! DR
Program
Technical wizardry, melting musicality, old-world style and panache.....woven seamlessly together into an utterly perfect evening
Carnegie Hall,
NY Concert Review
A sensational player, as technically mellifluous as he is interpretively beguiling
THE STRAD, London