Béla Bartók, a famous 20th century Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist, collected and studied the folklore of the Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak and Balkan peoples (almost 2000 folk melodies). The collected and arranged folk melodies were closely related to Bartók’s original music.

One of Bartók’s most striking late works is his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2. From the very first bars (Allegro non troppo), the music is imbued with the rhythms and intonations of traditional Hungarian folk music, with a pronounced improvisatory tendency. The second movement (Andante tranquillo) paints a mysterious canvas of shimmering colours. In the third movement (Allegro molto) the main theme of the first movement is transformed into a raucous waltz. The climax of the Concerto reaches euphoria. Throughout the work, Bartók paid great attention to the expressive musical conversation that develops between the violin and the other orchestral instruments.

The virtuosic and challenging violin part is performed by one of the most renowned Lithuanian violinists, Professor Rusnė Mataitytė, together with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson. The performance of this exceptional work marked the anniversary of the famous violinist.