Anyone who has seen Oliver Knussen conduct live, in a performance of his violin concerto with the American violinist Leila Josefowicz in Zurich, will never forget this concert experience. At least that's what happened to me.

With the CD recording of Knussen's Violin Concerto at the Proms in London, I want to revisit this musical experience. There are also encouraging signs that Knussen's Violin Concerto has been programmed more often recently.

From the very beginning of his artistic career, Oliver Knussen was active and creative both as a composer and as a conductor. As a conductor, he particularly championed the contemporary work of his fellow 20th century composers. As a composer, he leaves behind a rather small but precisely crafted body of work after his sudden cardiac death in 2018, with chamber music, 3 symphonies and with the successful opera based on the children's book "Wo die wilden Kerle wohnen". His Violin Concerto was first performed only in 2002, but I still rather count Oliver Knussen among the composers of the 20th century in the succession of Berg and Britten, which does not say anything against the topicality and quality of this work. His violin concerto is also dedicated to Pinchas Zukerman, one of the great violinists of the 20th century. Knussen's music is freitonal, sparklingly orchestrated, fascinating to hear, at moments magical and brilliantly imagined. His works tend to be small-scale.  Oliver Knussen himself said, "I'd rather be enchanted for a few minutes than hypnotised for an hour." His violin concerto, then, lasts a scant 16 minutes. Moreover, the three movements, recitative, aria and gigue, are played without intermission, as if they were a staged performance in a theatre.

Listen here.

I    Recitative -

II   Aria -III Gigue