Sitting at home during the global pandemic with all performances cancelled for the foreseeable future, acclaimed violinist, Linus Roth turned to his notebooks of random musical ideas and jottings for inspiration. One idea jumped off the page at him – to record a programme made up of some of his most beloved pieces for violin and piano, all of which had in common both a virtuoso character and that they were all dances. What better way to lift the spirits at this time than with dance music?
He called his long term musical partner, pianist José Gallardo to plan out the recording and five weeks later, they had the remarkable opportunity to record the album in the visually stunning and acoustically unique Library of the former monastery in Ochsenhausen, Germany, home of the Music Academy of Baden-Württemberg. This venue had a particular significance for Roth, as he had first stood on the hall’s stage to perform at the tender age of eleven and had recently been appointed Artistic Director of the Music Festival ‘Schwäbischer Frühling’ which takes place every May in this same hall. As the festival in 2020 had also had to be cancelled, it was a wonderful synergy to be back on that very same stage and to have the amazing opportunity to bring this vivid recording idea to life. © Challenge Classics