Sunday 31. May
18:00
/
Main Stage
Christian Tetzlaff plays Bach
Christian Tetzlaff / Photo: Giorgia Bertazzi
With a Heart for Bach
German violinist Christian Tetzlaff has returned to Bach’s solo works for violin not once, but three times on record. Now, as he once again steps onto the stage of the Opera House, it is these very sonatas and partitas he brings with him – to share in his own unmistakable voice.
Concerts That Touch the Core of Existence
Renowned for interpretations that are both deeply expressive and profoundly personal, Tetzlaff inspires an almost spiritual devotion among his audiences. Listeners speak of his concerts as transformative experiences – moments that seem to touch the very core of what it means to be human.
They say Tetzlaff “speaks” through his violin. His artistry reaches far beyond mere beauty of tone or dazzling virtuosity. For him, the great masterpieces of music are not simply objects of admiration, but stories of existence itself: of joy and despair, of life and death. He aims to convey these truths directly to the listener – with the performer’s ego kept entirely out of the way.
The Soul in Sound
Bach has held a special place in Tetzlaff’s life and career. Over the years, he has released three distinctive interpretations of the composer’s sonatas and partitas for violin – one of them recorded in the intimate setting of Hoff Church in Østre Toten.
Tonight’s programme presents these works in their original form, Sei Solo a Violino senza Basso accompagnato (BWV 1001–1006) – one of the great artistic legacies of Johann Sebastian Bach. The three sonatas each unfold in four movements, following the pattern slow – fast – slower – faster. The partitas offer suites of dance movements, inspired by the popular dances of Bach’s day. In the 17th century, the term partita meant a set of variations; Bach used it to mean a suite – a gathering of pieces in dance form.
To Tetzlaff, these works are nothing less than prayers – intimate expressions of the soul. He believes Bach may have regarded them as a personal prayer book. The Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor, for example, he sees as a lament written after the death of Bach’s first wife, Maria Barbara: “Perhaps this explains why something so powerful, so unsettling, suddenly emerges amid a partita for solo violin – a form usually made up of short, self-contained movements.” In Tetzlaff’s hands, the music takes on an emotional and spiritual dimension that transcends the boundaries of technical mastery.
Listen to Christian Tetzlaff playing Chaconne.
Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach:
Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001
Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002
Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003
Intermission
Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004
Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005
Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006
Price
150 - 590 kr