Violin Concertos Nos. 7, 10 and 13 

A student of Viotti, Pierre Rode was an eminent violinist active in early 19th century Paris who helped found the influential French violin school. Respected by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Spohr, among others, Rode is mostly known for his 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, yet his 13 Violin Concertos are rarely if ever played. Friedemann Eichhorn, the soloist on this world premiere recording, has commented: ‘Working with these scores was a wonderful adventure... Rode uses sophisticated and often rich orchestration... As a counterpoint to effective virtuoso violin writing, Rode emphasizes the singing quality of his instrument’. The Violin Concerto No. 7, the best known of the Concertos, was a favourite of Wieniawski, and one of the very few works (besides his own) that Paganini consented to play.

‘Friedemann Eichhorn’s…plays with a consistently attractive tone (silvery in the upper registers and resonant in the lower ones) coupled with a crispness of articulation (plenty of bite, for example, in Rode’s staccato passages) that makes the many brilliant passages reflect the light in gem-like tonal highlights.’

– Fanfare