VIDEO

W. A. Mozart : Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major K.218 Allegro 00:05 Andante Cantabile 08:40 Rondeau - Andante Grazioso 16:25 * Cadenzas by SongHa Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie (dir. Vahan Mardirossian) Flagey, Brussels Recorded live during 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition | Semi final II

Thierry Escaich : Variations Litanique for Violin and Orchestra (2024) Belgian National Orchestra (dir. Anthony Hermus) BOZAR, Brussels Live recorded by RTBF, VRT during 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition

Belgian National Orchestra (dir. Anthony Hermus) BOZAR Brussels, Henry Le Bœuf Hall, Belgium D. Shostakovich : Violin Concerto No.1 in A Minor, Op.77 I. Nocturne 00:52 II. Scherzo 13:40 III. Passacaglia 20:36 Cadenza 29:56 IV. Burlesque 35:04 Recorded live by RTBF and VRT, during 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition

K. Szymanowski : Myths : III. Dryades et Pan Op.30 Live recording from the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition Flagey, Brussels, Belgium Violin : SongHa Piano : Yukako Morikawa

INTERVIEW CLIP | Robert Dunand Prize 2024 Excerpt of P. Vladigerov : Bulgarian Rhapsody "Vardar" Violin : SongHa Piano : Noriko Sugiyama Many thanks to Villars Institute and Mei Fa Tan's production team! • About the piece • "A single cry is heard" Момите кръшни песни пеят на български език Едничък глас се там разнася, едничък чуй се вик Ний българи сме с чест и слава Ний кичим нашата държава.. (The girls are singing songs in Bulgarian A single voice is heard there, a single cry is heard We are Bulgarians with honor and glory We adorn our country.. Lyrics by L. Bobevsky) Pancho Vladigerov is a 20th century Bulgarian composer, pedagogue and pianist. He was a founding member of bulgarian contemporary music society, and contributed greatly in translating bulgarian folk elements to traditional classical music through his compositions. He received his first lessons under the tutelage of Dobri Hristov in Sofia, and later furthered his musical education in Berlin, at the Staatliche Akademische Hochschule für Musik (UdK) with Leonid Kreutzer, Georg Schumann and Friedrich Gernsheim. Though nowadays relatively unknown outside Bulgaria, he gained fame in Europe during the 1920s, through multiple publications of his work in Universal Edition, as well as recording LPs with the Deutsche Grammophone. His music was greatly admired by other musicians such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Richard Strauss and Aram Khatchaturian. He also worked as a music director at Deutsches Theatre in Berlin, alongside Max Reinhardt. Vladigerov returned to Sofia in 1930s, to pursue his passion for pedagogy at the State Academy of Music, which is now named after him. His other notable works include the Jewish Symphony, 5 piano concerti and folk song arrangements for voice and choir. The Bulgarian Rhapsody "Vardar" was written in 1923, during Vladigerov's residence in Berlin. One late evening of October 1922, Vladigerov found himself with his close friends in a pub in Berlin. A friend drunkenly sings a song, which Vladigerov immediately proceeds to notate down on a piece of manuscript paper. He was then asked if he could compose a "Bulgarian work" based on this melody, and he has happily agreed to do so, by writing the rhapsody. He later finds out that the tune was in fact not an improvised melody of his friend, instead a popular patriotic Macedonian folksong written by his old teacher, "One can hear a cry". "Vardar" is the name of a river situated in the north Macedonia, and the rhapsody was dedicated "To the Bulgarian youth fighting for independence in Vardar".  A Rhapsody defines itself as a "one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour, and tonality". After an introduction of Hristov's song, the piece unfolds itself in a medley of folk tunes and multiple hora (dances) that are connects to the successive tune in an improvisatory manner. In a typical Bulgarian fashion, there are 6 individual episodes laid out in an open structure. Folk features and techniques such as using a variety of ornamentations, block chord pizzicati to imitate the sound of tambura, and glissando/scordatura to convey the effect of gaida (bagpipe) and gadulka. (Written by SongHa)