An album by Richard Strauss, performed by French violinist Renaud Capucon, comprising three discs released by Deutsche Grammophon on January 31st.

This album includes, among others, Richard Strauss's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and Sonata for Violin and Piano, works that you can hear on Radio România Muzical, along with the symphonic poem A Hero's Life, recorded in 2000 with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa, as well as other works from Strauss's chamber repertoire: Piano Quartet Op. 13, the sextet from the opera Capriccio, and the study Metamorphoses.

Richard Strauss was only 17 when he wrote his concerto for violin and orchestra, a piece that's still rarely played today. It's a romantic score that shows the energy of youth and the rich expression of the time it was written, which was 1881-1882. It is by no means an easy score, as Renaud Capucon points out, comparing it to Robert Schumann's concerto. The version proposed by Renaud Capucon and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Petr Popelka, emphasizes the romantic side of the work and the characteristic youthful enthusiasm.

I also note the dates when we will be able to hear Renaud Capucon and Petr Popelka in Bucharest as part of the Enescu 2025 festival: at the Romanian Athenaeum on August 31st - Renaud Capucon, and on September 4th and 5th, at the Palace Hall, conductor Petr Popelka, who will lead the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

One of the highlights of the Richard Strauss album recorded by violinist Renaud Capucon for Deutsche Grammophon is Sonata Op. 18 for violin and piano, composed in 1887 when Strauss was 23 years old, witnessing the love between Richard Strauss and soprano Pauline de Aahna. It is a contemporary work with Cesar Franck's Sonata in A major, created in 1886, with which it shares many musical characteristics: both technical difficulty and an emphasis on lyricism, which comes from the love story behind both works - Franck wrote his famous sonata as a wedding gift for Ysaye.

Renaud Capucon recorded Richard Strauss's sonata for violin and piano with pianist Guillaume Bellom, with whom he has worked on previous albums. They share a French approach to the work, which is very appropriate to the context of this opus, as well as the fantasy and sound suitable for such a sonata.

The album captures the interest of the French violinist, one of the most important names in contemporary violin playing worldwide, in the music of Richard Strauss, which accompanied him during his mature years-Renaud Capuçon is now 49 years old.