Maxim Vengerov Performs Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto in Hamburg

Vengerov performs the work with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra conducted by Long Yu

Violinist Maxim Vengerov has recently shared this performance of the Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by Long Yu, the concert took place at the Elphilharmonie Hamburg in Germany in 2017.

The composition of the Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto is credited to composers Chen Gang and He Zhanhao in 1959 while the two were studying at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Chen was responsible for the majority of the one movement work's scoring, while He’s primary contribution was the work’s famous opening theme. Throughout the piece, we follow the protagonist Zhu, represented by the solo violin part, and her lover Liang, played by the cello part.

The concerto premiered in 1959 and is often found to be used for figure skating routines, most memorably for Chen Lu's free skate performance at the 1998 Winter Olympics.