The works of violinist and composer Nicolaus Richter de Vroe (b. 1955) have been and are regularly performed by the most renowned organisers and festivals of new music. In 1988 he joined the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and, one year later, founded the XSEMBLE Munich - an ensemble characterised by experimental programming and stylistic openness. In 1996, he co-founded the Munich Society for New Music, dedicated to promoting contemporary music. Alongside his work as a composer and performer, Richter de Vroe has been a regular guest at Goethe Institutes worldwide since 1994, delivering lectures and giving portrait concerts and presentations of his work.

Richter de Vroe’s Violin Concerto was composed between 2018 and 2020 as a commission from musica viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk, kindly supported by the Friends of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The world premiere, recorded on this CD, was performed by Ilya Gringolts (violin) and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Johannes Kalitzke on 28 October 2022 in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. The initial inspiration for Richter de Vroe’s Violin Concerto came from Ilya Gringolts’ interpretation of György Ligeti’s Violin Concerto.

The concerto begins with an introduction, followed by a first cadenza accompanied by individual instruments in a drone-like manner. This is followed by the first nocturne, which features sounds reminiscent of natural lutes. In the so-called “Main Movement”, “things get pretty crazy! There’s a real frenzy with lots of momentum and variety, not to mention a lot of – how shall I put it – ‘nasty surprises’!” (Richter de Vroe).

Avenir for organ, choir and orchestra was also commissioned by musica viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk in 2013/14. This CD features the recording of the world premiere on 6 June 2014, performed by Wolfgang Mitterer on the organ and accompanied by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Johannes Kalitzke.