Today’s Video of the Day features a performance of Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26, by violinist Hans Christian Aavik with the Estonian Festival Orchesrta, conducted by Paavo Järvi

Hans Christian Aavik is an Estonian violinist and the winner of the 2022 Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition. He is currently Young Artist in Focus with the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn and plays a Giovanni Paolo Maggini violin (c 1610) on loan from the Estonian Foundation of Musical Instruments.

Completed in 1866 and premiered in 1868, Bruch’s First Violin Concerto is one of the most frequently performed works in the violin repertoire. Bruch sold the manuscript for a modest sum and, after World War I left him destitute, sent the autograph to pianists Rose and Ottilie Sutro to sell in the U.S. He never received any money. The sisters kept the manuscript, later selling it in 1949 to Mary Flagler Cary; it now resides in the Morgan Library, New York

This performance is part of Aavik’s new album with Orchid Classics where he is joined by the Odense Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Gemma New​. S​et for release on 2 May, the album pairs the Bruch concerto with Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Violin Concerto No. 2 (Angel’s Share).

The full album releases on 2 May and can be heard below via Presto Music