YANG Jing was born in China at a time when the so-called Cultural Revolution, which lasted from 1966 to 1976, had a major impact on her childhood. This wiped out all traditional, bourgeois culture to an extent that we can hardly believe even today. Mao's wife Jiang Qing postulated that only proletarian art and literature was acceptable, which for her only really began in 1963, with everything created before that being regarded as reprehensible and decadent. As one of the four leading figures of the Cultural Revolution, which was later dubbed the Gang of Four, she was largely responsible for the attempt to erase China's cultural heritage. Only so-called model plays, six Peking operas and two ballets, newly written for the purpose of public education, were permitted.

After having recorded Mozart’s last three violin concertos in 2014, Arabella Steinbacher, the Festival Strings Lucerne and its leader Daniel Dodds now complete the cycle by presenting Mozart’s less well-known, but equally enchanting Violin Concertos 1 & 2, together with his Adagio in E Major and Rondos in C Major and B-flat Major. Steinbacher plays the cadenzas by Wolfgang Schneiderhan, who co-founded the Festival Strings Lucerne in 1956. Another exciting aspect of this album is that she plays for the first time on the „Ex Benno Walter“ Strad from 1718. Arabella Steinbacher, a multiple award-winner with an extensive PENTATONE discography, is accompanied by the esteemed players of the Festival Strings Lucerne and their leader and artistic director Daniel Dodds.

The violinist Midori has been a celebrated performer for more than 35 years, this recording of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, complemented by his two Romances for violin and orchestra, marks the composer’s 250th birthday in December 2020. Midori plays with the Lucerne Festival Strings in a recording made in Switzerland shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic had caused the cancellation of a planned concert performance and international tour. “Beethoven guided my colleagues and me,” says Midori, “his work focusing and inspiring us, our concentrations heightened, enveloped together in our musical efforts … I am reminded that he was a man of strong beliefs … who took firm stands on many major issues of his day … Beethoven's determination still provides a model for humankind.”