Two Brahms masterworks appear in the 2025-26 Season. Joshua Bell and Academy of St Martin in the Fields perform Brahms’ Violin Concerto (1878), and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs his Symphony No. 4 which premiered seven years later. Brahms openly paid homage to Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, echoing several key aspects such as the interplay between timpani and violin. For the premiere, Brahms even programmed Beethoven’s to precede his own, further emphasizing the relationship. What makes Brahms’ unique are the cadenzas, which are considered some of the finest in all the violin repertoire.
Bell’s dual roles, leading the orchestra and performing the violin, create a synergy that has defined their appearances at The Soraya over the past 14 years.