Tchaikovsky & Conus

The offer from Deutsche Grammophon to record the Tchaikovsky and Conus violin concertos in Moscow turned into a most memorable and moving exxperience for me. Aprt from all the artistic impressions that I gathered during my visit this journey to the new demoratic Russia was also an opportunity to to get to know the land of my forefathers and thus to discover my own my Russian roots. My paternal grandmother fled Stalin's dictatorship; my great-grandfather dies in a Siberian internment camp.

Standing on the podium before the Moscow audience, I had a sense of longing, that so many Russian msicians must have felt after leaving their homeland behind. These recordings therefore also represent the fulfilment of my own nostalgic dreams.

I would like to dedicate this CD to my mentor and dear friend Ida Haendel, whose genious will always inspire me.