In this exclusive Strad premiere, watch violinist Daniel Kurganov and pianist Constantine Finehouse perform Messiaen’s Theme and Variations.

Written in 1932, the piece consists of a theme and five variations, yet it is ’so controlled in its trajectory – that the listener is hardly aware of the variation structure’. The work was composed by Messiaen as a wedding gift for his wife, the violinist Claire Delbos, and together they gave the premiere of the work on 22 November 1932.

This work appears on Kurganov and Finehouse’s new album Rhythm and the Borrowed Past, consisting of works by Lera Auerbach, Richard Beaudoin, John Cage and Messiaen, out on 5 November.

Watch: Augustin Hadelich performs Paganini Concerto no.1

Read: Opinion: Dare to be different

 

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