Widmann makes her debut with the Irish Chamber Orchestra

GERMAN virtuoso violinist Carolin Widmann directs the Irish Chamber Orchestra for the first time this week.

Awarded Artist of the Year at the International Classical Music Awards in 2014, Widmann performs with the ICO in the University Concert Hall this Thursday night, as well as shows in Dublin tonight and Cork on Friday.

The violinist’s brother Jörg is the ICO’s guest conductor-artistic partner and her performance here is much-anticipated, with the orchestra hailing an “outstandingly enterprising artist who, at a time when many leading violinists are content to stick with the familiar, focuses on the contemporary”.

Mendelssohn’s magic dominates her debut with the ICO as she performs the composer’s long-lost Violin Concerto in D minor, written at 13, but undiscovered until Yehudi Menuhin published it in 1952.

The orchestra also perform two of Mendelssohn's early String Symphonies which only came to the fore in 1960 – No. 5, which is precocious in style, while No. 9 marks an important step in the development of the composer’s confidence.

Widmann will also perform her brother's Etudes for Violin, which he composed especially for her, performing 1-3, which include an accompaniment for voice which the versatile Widmann provides herself.

The programme also includes Sam Perkin’s Nimbus for String Orchestra.

The ICO perform in the UCH this Thursday night. See www.uch.ie or www.irishchamberorchestra.com for tickets and more information.