The Sound of Fate

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor

The marathon concert of music by Beethoven (1770–1827) held in Vienna on 22.12.1808 was a landmark event in the history of music. It lasted four hours and among the items on the programme were a Piano Concerto (4), two Symphonies (5 & 6), a concert aria and two movements from a Mass major. The standard of the performance was probably not very high as the musicians had had little time to rehearse, and Beethoven – both the conductor and the soloist – was by that time very deaf. The symphonies, in particular, were nevertheless well received. No. 5 in C minor would in time become one of his best-known works. It was quite progressive in its day: the first movement is based almost entirely on a single four-note motif, the last two movements are joined together, and the classical orchestra has been augmented with a piccolo, double bassoon and trombones. The idea of a journey from darkness to light was not Beethoven’s, but he was the first composer to spot its great dramatic potential, and it marked the dawn of a new heroic, romantic era in music.

Edward Elgar: Violin Concerto in B minor op. 61

The journey of Edward Elgar (1857–1934) from the English countryside and a succession of odd jobs to become one of Britain’s most prominent composers and a baronet to boot was long and arduous. It was not until he wrote the orchestral piece Enigma Variations (1899) that everything changed. His breakthrough led not only to national fame but international recognition too.

Elgar wrote his Violin Concerto (1909–1910) to a request by Fritz Kreisler, who also premiered the work in London in November 1910 with the London Symphony Orchestra under the composer’s baton. The work was excellently received and has remained in the repertoire even through times when Elgar’s late Romantic style was otherwise less favoured.

It’s good! Awfully emotional! Too emotional, but I love it.

The concerto is symphonic in its proportions. It only has the traditional three movements, but they are unusually extensive: a typical performance clocks in at about 45 minutes. The solo part is demanding. The score bears a cryptic motto in Spanish: Aqui está encerrada el alma de... (“Here is preserved the soul of...”). Elgar loved riddles, and this is one of his most famous ones. It has been speculated that the motto refers perhaps to Elgar’s sweetheart in his youth, Helen Weaver, or to a friend of the family, Alice Stuart-Wortley. Be that as it may, the often-nostalgic tone of the music does support the notion that the work is about something of personal importance to Elgar. He himself noted: “It’s good! Awfully emotional! Too emotional, but I love it.” 

Christian Holmqvist, translation: Jaakko Mäntyjärvi

Christian Tetzlaff 

Violinist Christian Tetzlaff is highly acclaimed for his expressive, insightful and personal interpretations. Since his spectacular debut with the Schönberg violin concerto in 1988 in Berlin, he has appeared with major orchestras of the highest calibre such as New York Philharmonics, the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and many others. 

Tetzlaff performs an extensive repertoire ranging from Bach’s solo sonatas and partitas to lesserknown concertos by Giovanni Battista Viotti, to contemporary works by György Ligeti, and Thomas Adès. Chamber music has also been an integral part of his career. In 1994 he founded the Tetzlaff Quartet with his sister, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff.

In 2023 Tetzlaff took over the artistic direction of the Spannungen Festival in Heimbach, Germany. In the 2025/26 season he features as Artist-in-Residence of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. February 2026 Tetzlaff gives the world premiere of Ondřej Adámek’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in Paris.

Timo Kalliokoski