María Dueñas, the distinctive 20-year-old Spanish violinist, was our visitor soloist on the Richmond Symphony final weekend. She carried out Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole. Dueñas was the primary prize winner within the 2021 Menuhin Violin Competitors, which was hosted in Richmond. In 2022, she signed an unique recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. She performs on the 1736 “Muntz” Guarneri del Gesú violin.
Paganini: Caprice No. 4
The fourth of Niccolò Paganini’s Twenty 4 Caprices is an train in double stops and thirds. Dueñas’ expansive and singing method honors Paganini’s interpretive marking, maestoso.
Fauré: Après un rêve (Model for Violin and Piano)
Après un rêve (“After a dream”) is the opening track in Gabriel Fauré’s 1878 set, Trois mélodies for solo voice and piano. On this violin transcription, María Dueñas is accompanied by Itamar Golan.
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
This December 2020 efficiency options María Dueñas with conductor Gustavo Gimeno and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. We explored this piece in a earlier publish.
Recordings
Featured Picture: {photograph} by Tam Lan Truong