Vilde Frang Plays Beethoven and Stravinsky

Released on Warner Classics, this album is also violinist Pekka Kuusisto's first recording as a conductor

The Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang has recently released a new recording on Warner Classics. The disc pairs Beethoven's violin concerto with that of Stravinsky, and Frang appears alongside the small and agile Deustche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

Both works are conducted by the innovative Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto, who has been developing a parallel conducting career while he recovers from a hand injury.

Born in Oslo, Vilde Frang studied with Stephan Barratt-Due, Alf Richard Kraggerud, and Henning Kraggerud at the Barratt Due Institute of Music. After being handpicked by Mariss Jansons, she made her solo debut with the Oslo Philharmonic at just 12 years old.

Frang now appears with the world's best orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and London Symphony Orchestra.

She records exclusively for Warner Classics, and her discography has attracted a number of prestigious awards — including two Gramophone Awards and a Diapason d'Or.

“The Beethoven concerto is a piece of overwhelming power," Vilde Frang said. "It is somehow more than music — the dimension of it feels almost cosmic. The force of this concerto takes me by surprise, over and over again."

"It was the chamber musical qualities of the Beethoven concerto that provided the key for me," Frang added of her choice of repertoire.

"The violin is constantly ‘feeding’ and playing around the orchestra. In its own way, the Stravinsky too engages the soloist in a constant dialogue with the orchestra."

"With Pekka Kuusisto and the Bremen players, I really feel in such a comfort zone. There is a feeling of having everything to gain by gathering together, coming together.”

You can hear an excerpt from the final movement of the Beethoven concerto below.