Sensitive strings

A sunrise over a North African landscape in stark contrast to the romantic expressiveness of the North: this is the founding paradox of the two orchestral suites Peer Gynt (1876), and probably contributed to their resounding success. This veritable "hit" of classical music concentrates all the expressiveness of the strings, sometimes powerful, sometimes melancholy. This is music for the stage, embracing the full range of emotions represented in the theater, in a strong neo-romantic vein. Against this cloud of strings, united as one, stands the violin soloist in Mendelssohn's Second Concerto (1845). An emblem of German Romanticism that quickly became a symbol of virtuosity, the solo part reveals a calm, dreamy, sentimental instrument. From these two distinct ways of highlighting the strings - through the expressiveness of the tutti or the virtuosity of the soloist - emerges an almost infinite palette of colors. Love, death, travel and all the eminently romantic themes intertwine in the same contemplative élan to reach new heights of emotion!