Program

Franz Liszt, Mephisto Waltzes

Mephisto Waltz No. 1, The Dance in the Village Inn

Giuseppe Tartini, Sonata for Violin in G Minor, "Devil's Trill Sonata"

1. Larghetto affetuoso

2. Allegro moderato

3. Andante assai-Andante-Allegro assai

Niccolò Paganini, 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1

No. 24 in A minor

Igor Stravinsky, L'Histoire du soldat ("The Soldier's Tale")

I: Introduction: The Soldier's March

I: Music for Scene One: Airs by a Stream

I: The Soldier's March (Reprise)

I: Music for Scene Two: Pastorale

I: Airs by a Stream (Reprise)

I: Music for Scene Three: Airs by a Stream (Reprise)

II: The Soldier's March (Reprise)

II: The Royal March

II: The Little Concert

II: Three Dances: 1. Tango

II: Three Dances: 2. Valse

II: Three Dances: 3. Ragtime

II: The Devil's Dance

II: Little Chorale

II: The Devil's Song

II: Great Choral

II: Triumphal March of the Devil

"A Deal with the Devil": Liszt, Tartini, Paganini, and Stravinsky

Thomas Adès, Augustin Hadelich, Inon Barnatan, and more at La Jolla Music Society

Cast

Inon Barnatan — Piano

Augustin Hadelich — Violin

Inon Barnatan — Harpsichord

Macintyre Taback — Cello

Augustin Hadelich — Violin

Alexi Kenney — Violin

Mark Simpson — Clarinet

Eleni Katz — Bassoon

Program notes

This darkly dramatic concert from La Jolla SummerFest 2024 features an all-star lineup — including violinist Augustin Hadelich, pianist Inon Barnatan, and multi-hyphenate Thomas Adès stepping in as conductor — in a program of nonstop devilish delights! Barnatan conjures up Faustian enchantment in the first of Liszt's Mephisto Waltzes before the virtuosic Hadelich takes on a diabolical double header at the violin: Tartini's extraordinarily difficult "Devil's Trill" Sonata, inspired by the composer's dream of a fiddling devil, and the famed 24th Caprice by Paganini, himself possessed of such superhuman skill that some listeners could only think to ascribe them a malevolent provenance… Finally, we're treated to Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier's Tale), a theatrical work of deliciously wide-ranging musical styles performed by a talented septet of instrumentalists with the actor Danny Burstein, conducted by maestro Adès.

A closer look: featured composers

Niccolò Paganini

Franz Liszt

Igor Stravinsky

Further listening: featured works

24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1

Niccolò Paganini (Composer)

Mephisto Waltzes

Franz Liszt (Composer)