This Sunday’s Philadelphia Orchestra In Concert broadcast features what would turn out to be the final engagement with the ensemble for a great Spanish conductor - the late Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos.
The program of French music he conducted, included a lesser-performed work; a Spanish-inspired symphony showcasing a highly regarded German violinist in his Philadelphia Orchestra debut.
After a promising start, Augustin Hadelich‘s musical career was temporarily halted when he was badly burned in a fire at his parents’ home when he was 15.
Fifteen years later, the Italian-born German violinist would seem to have overcome this early tragedy to develop into a musician of astounding virtuosity. He also seems to revel in performing works that challenge his extraordinary talents. On Sunday we’ll hear him in Edouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnol, a complicated work that he has neither the ability nor the desire to make look easy.