How does a gifted boy become a master? How does an entire era transform from the classical ideal to the romantic vision? Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s two violin concertos provide a compelling answer to these questions. Between the thirteen-year-old prodigy of 1822 and the mature master of 1844, not only does the development of an extraordinary composer unfold, but also the entire spectrum of Mendelssohn’s aesthetics: a love of form combined with a willingness to innovate, a combination of technical perfection with emotional immediacy, a balance between tradition and progress.

Elvin Hoxha Ganiyev is an internationally acclaimed concert violinist who performs with leading orchestras and conductors worldwide.

Born in 1997 into a family of distinguished musicians, he began playing the violin at the age of five under the guidance of Server Ganiyev at Bilkent University and made his solo debut at the age of eight with the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra. The Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra Reutlingen (WPR) is a renowned symphony orchestra based in Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg. Howard Griffiths is an internationally active British-Swiss conductor. Born in England, he studied at the Royal College of Music in London and has lived in Switzerland since 1981. As a guest conductor, he works with leading orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. His close collaboration with composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Arvo Pärt and Hans Werner Henze has made him a versatile and sought-after artist.