Elena Denisova, Solo Violin

Gustav Mahler Ensemble (Chamber Orchestra) - Alexei Kornienko, Conductor

TYXart series "Modern Classics": Violin Concertant XXI (Vol. 2)

Franz Hummel: Violin Concerto in memoriam of Max Reger
Premiere 2016 in Weiden/Bavaria, commissioned by the Max Reger Days in Weiden
"My contribution to the Max Reger Days 2016 in Weiden was originally intended to be the completion of Reger's unfi nished Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra. However, since his widow, along with the violinist Florizel von Reuter, held séances to summon her late husband, who then promptly dictated the further course of his composition to the two of them and, en passant, complained that there was no beer in the afterlife, I felt too insignifi cant to add anything to such impressive mysticism. Instead, I wrote my own concerto in memoriam of Max Reger, which, however, also contains a kind of séance and, naturally with due reticence, echoes occasional themes from the Rhapsody as well as other small references to the master's work.
De mystibus non disputandum!" - Franz Hummel

Maximilian Kreuz: Ihr Gestirn’, ihr hohen Lüfte
"Chorale in an old style based on Schemelli, for Violin and String Orchestra Wv. 65/90 (2025)
The artistic credo by Maximilian Kreuz has always refused to solely refl ect reality in music. On the contrary, Music should be an aesthetic counter-balance to our sober, often frightening everyday life. The composer is absolutely aware of the fact that by realizing this object he is removing his music from the processes of social tension – at least in the fi rst instance.
Music primarly aiming at releasing deep impressions and “emotional reactions” in an individual: this is in short Kreuz´s reply to purely socio-political positions in art.
This compositional principle resonated with many international performances, most recently in Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin, Regensburg, Prague, Paris, Moscow, St.Petersburg, Beijing, New York, Toronto, etc." - Alexander Drcar
The series of compositions in the old style Wv. 65 (catalogue of works) was created 25 years ago and comprises over 50 pieces. The basis for all of them is the “Gesangsbuch” (‘Hymn Book’) by Georg Christian Schemelli from 1736. Over the years, an exciting interplay of the old chorales with modern free tonality has developed.

Alexander Zemlinsky: Serenade for Violin and Piano in A major
"Zemlinsky’s Serenade for Violin and Piano in fi ve movements, a charming early work that may owe its existence to the recollection of an encounter with the bluntly critical Johannes Brahms, radiates so much youthful esprit that I had to agree with Elena Denisova when she told me it deserved to be orchestrated.
It is often asserted that the work is all too naive, but the new palette of orchestral colours invalidate this argument and emphasize the fact that the simplicity of the composition is certainly intentional and has nothing to do with naivety." - Franz Hummel

Violinist Elena Denisova arranged Stravinsky's Suite for Violin and Piano in a version for Violin and Orchestra, which brings to light completely new timbres and a surprising musical appearance.
"Children and animals understand my music best." (I. Stravinsky) – reason enough to give his music new breath. The real impulse to write a "Pulcinella" instrumentation for violin solo and orchestra, however, was the recording of the two "music gods of Olympus": Jascha Heifetz & Gregor Piatigorsky. The Togetherness "violin / violoncello" is reflected in the MOREness/Plurality "violin / orchestra" and gives the solo instrument a seemingly endless freedom to unfold. [...]

[Abstract, booklet texts // Further english info text about composers & artists: see booklet inside!]

Free audio samples of this recording!

INTERNATIONAL REVIEWS AND PRESS COMMENTARIES (EXCERPTS)

CD Review & Recommendation!
klassik-heute.com, Prof. Klaus Trapp (online, 09/2026)

CD programme (Tracklist):