Violin Circle

At all times, the violin has been fascinating people. With a history of approx. 500 years, it can truly be described as the highest developed instrument of the Occident. As early as in the 16^th century, it was considered to be the goddess of string instruments because of its expressive qualities and heavenly high tones. To this day, names like Stradivari, Paganini or Tartini's »Devil's Trill« still fire the imagination of audiences. The violin has often been thought of as intensifying our emotions, although initially it was more associated with the lower ranks in society. At the beginning of the 17^th century, however, the instrument began gaining prestige because of its use in operas, for instance in Claudio Monteverdi's »Orfeo«. This trend continued throughout the Baroque era owing to the works of many well-respected composers,  who were also grand virtuosos on this instrument – among them Arcangelo Corelli, Antonio Vivaldi, Giuseppe Tartini, Georg Philipp Telemann or Johann Sebastian Bach. By the middle of the 18^th century, the violin had become the most widely used  solo and orchestral instrument in the music of Europe. This season, the  Rheingau Musik Festival has invited violinists from all over the world, who will bring along the most interesting solo compositions for violin and orchestra, or for violin and piano, some of them originating in their native countries.