The world of classical music is constantly evolving, and with it, new voices are emerging. One such voice is that of María Dueñas, a 20-year-old violinist from Granada, Spain, whose talent and radiance have earned her comparisons to long-standing virtuosos.
The Beethoven Violin Concerto is a seminal piece in the repertoire of any professional violinist. It demands not only technical mastery but also an extraordinary sense of lyricism and emotion from those who seek to make it their own. And yet, despite the centuries of famous virtuosos who have recorded and reimagined this masterpiece, María Dueñas has managed to bring her own unique voice to it.
“Beethoven’s Violin Concerto has been with me at the most important moments of my life,” says María, for whom it seems only natural to dedicate the first chapter of her discography to this work. She had the chance to record her œuvre with Manfred Honeck and the Vienna Symphony at the beginning of 2023, during a concert held in the Vienna Music Hall.
But how does one stand out from the crowd when performing such a well-known piece? “With the Beethoven concerto, you can’t show off your virtuosity, only yourself. And only sound can reveal it,” explains María. And it is precisely her sound that convinced us.
To really add her own touch to the work, María composed her own cadenzas, which are included on her first album, Beethoven and Beyond. The album also features cadenzas by five other famous virtuosos, as well as works for violin and orchestra by each of these composers. María takes up the Concerto with a unique sincerity and authenticity and manages to shed new light on Beethoven, that of her own time.
María’s talent and radiance have not gone unnoticed. In 2021, she won first prize in the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin Competition, and that same year, she signed a contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Her debut album has already earned critical acclaim, with some predicting that there will soon be “María Dueñas and Beyond.”
It is always exciting to see new voices emerge in the world of classical music, and María Dueñas is one to watch. With her talent and radiance, she brings a fresh perspective to a piece that has been performed by countless virtuosos before her. We can’t wait to see where her career takes her next.
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