NEW MUSIC TUESDAY | Composer Qigang Chen – ‘The Joy of Suffering’ Violin Concerto [WORLD PREMIERE]

Violinist Maxim Vengerov performing the world premiere performance of Chinese composer Qigang Chen‘s ‘The Joy of Suffering‘ for Violin and Orchestra

Violinist Maxim Vengerov performing the world premiere performance of Chinese composer Qigang Chen‘s ‘La Joie de la Souffrance‘ (The Joy of Suffering) for Violin and Orchestra – with conductor Long Yu and the China Philharmonic.

Recorded live on the 29th of October, 2017 – at the 2017 Beijing Music Festival, in China.

"The work was inspired by my only child, Yuli, who tragically died in a car crash in Zurich at the age of 29, in 2012 .... the sudden loss of him meant my wife and I had to rethink our meaning of life ..." Qigang has told The Violin Channel.

"I met Maxim Vengerov in 2013 in Beijing and Maxim and I discussed this project ... it was joint-commissioned by the Beijing Music Festival, the Melbourne Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition and Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse ... " he has said.

"Messaien said that the best way to measure a piece is by its honesty and authenticity ... I hope that this is conveyed through this piece ... I am not concerned with what others think, or what the current fashion is in the world - trends have nothing to do with how my heart feels."

MAXIM VENGEROV | QIGANG CHEN | 'THE JOY OF SUFFERING' VIOLIN CONCERTO | LONG YU & THE CHINA PHILHARMONIC | 2017