Patricia Kopatchinskaja showcases Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto in an extensive tour of Europe and the UK with the Budapest Festival, the Royal Scottish National and the City of Birmingham Symphony orchestras.

Following her concerts in Budapest, London and Lyon last month where she joined forces with the Budapest Festival Orchestra to kick off a tour featuring Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, Patricia Kopatchinskaja brings this work to Birmingham this week for the opening concerts of her residency with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. Part of the tour were also performances last month with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Thomas Søndergård at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall and at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

The Spectator commented upon Kopatchinskaja’s reading as follows: 

“[…] the Violin Concerto, with Patricia Kopatchinskaja as soloist — probably the only living violinist capable of upstaging a team like this. In truth, she played Stravinsky’s Concerto the way it’s clearly always been waiting to be played and invited Fischer and his super-orchestra to share the fun.” 

Later this month, Patricia and the CBSO will undertake an extensive tour of Europe with this Concerto under Gražinytė-Tyla’s direction to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris (22 March), Philharmonie Luxembourg (23 March), Koningin Elisabethzaal in Antwerp (25 March), Konzerthaus Dortmund (26 March), Musikverein Graz (28 March) and Musikverein Wien (1 April).

Kopatchinskaja wears a dress which is a copy of the 1921 Ballets Russes costume, designed by Larionov, for the ​“wife of the fool” in Prokofjevs ballet ​“Chout”. Kopatchinskaja comments: ​“The Stravinsky’s concerto from 1931 is sort of a cheeky masquerade and playing it as ​“wife of a fool” seems appropriate. Moreover, there are some stylistic similarities between the Concerto and the costume. I am particularly inspired by Larionov’s ​“cubistic collage”-like original drawings to the ballet and by the thought that, originally, the idea to this ballet was given to Diaghilev by Stravinsky, although Diaghilev commissioned the music from Prokofiev in 1921 in the end.”