Beethoven and more 2011 podcast #37: Fulfilled expectations
October 14, 2011
Ludwig van Beethoven
Violin Concerto in D Major, op. 61
Arabella Steinbacher, violin
National Youth Orchestra Iraq
Members of the German National Youth Orchestra
Conductor: Paul MacAlindin
MP3 recorded on October 1, 2011 in the Beethoven Hall Bonn by Deutsche Welle (DW)
What would Beethoven say if he came back to life and listened to his Violin Concerto performed by both Iraqi and German youth orchestras? It would probably fulfill the humanistic and universal ideals that he expressed throughout his works. The Orchestral Campus project, hosted every year by Deutsche Welle and Beethoven Festival, made it possible for Iraqi musicians from different ethnic groups to perform the German composer's music in Bonn, the city where he was born.
The enthusiastic playing of the Iraqis joined by members of the German National Youth Orchestra constitutes the perfect support for the musical flight of the magnificent soloist, Arabella Steinbacher. Born in Munich in 1981, Steinbacher's approach to this Beethoven work is fresh but mature, full of creative friction and at the same time smooth and lyrical. Her rendition of the Violin Concerto would certainly have also satisfied Beethoven's interpretative expectations, just as she did the public in the Beethoven Hall, which gave her a standing ovation.
Author: Maria Santacecilia
Editor: Rick Fulker