Deutsche Grammophon Releases Daniel Hope’s New Recording, The Romantic Violinist, on March 22,

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Daniel Hope, one of the master violinists and communicators of the present day, pays homage to the great 19th-century violinist Joseph Joachim with this all-new program of works written for, inspired by and even composed by Joachim. With a wide range of styles and composers from concerto to chamber, Brahms to Schumann, Hope reveals the impact this one violinist had on classical music and violin writing in the latter half of the 19th-century. Hope, who will give performances as part of the Savannah Music Festival, will release this album on March 22 on Deutsche Grammophon, his fourth solo release for the Yellow Label.

Joseph Joachim, born in 1831, was an unusually gifted young violinist. At an early age he played for Felix Mendelssohn and was among the first to play the composer’s violin concerto (having studied it under Mendelssohn’s guidance). It was Joachim (at age 12) and Mendelssohn’s performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto that helped to re-establish the piece as part of the standard repertoire. Following Mendelssohn’s death in 1847 the violinist continued to travel and make new acquaintances including both Schumanns, Brahms, Dvorak, Bruch and others. Though he performed relatively little compared to his influence, Joachim inspired many composers to write concerti and chamber works with him in mind, whether the violinist ever performed the works or not. The most intriguing work ever composed for Joachim is the F-A-E Sonata with individual movements contributed by R. Schumann, Brahms and Albert Dietrich. Daniel Hope performs the movement composed by Brahms on this album.

Daniel Hope, who has always been a magnificent programmer and communicator and who creates each project with a fresh perspective and an inquisitive mind, has approached the legend that is Joachim and decided to touch on multiple aspects of his personality and influence. The central work on this album is Bruch’s Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor since the violin part was completely re-worked, at the composer’s request, by Joachim. The smaller pieces included are all special from the Brahms sonata movement mentioned above to several works dedicated to Joachim including Brahms’s Wiegenlied (sung by Anne Sofie von Otter) and the Clara Schumann Romanze.

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