Violinist Michael Barenboim pairs Boulez’s Anthèmes with works by Bach and Bartók in a program that draws connections across two and a half centuries. Created as an audition piece for the 1992 Yehudi Menuhin Competition, the solo-violin Anthèmes 1 was later expanded and adapted by the composer to include live electronics, resulting in Anthèmes 2. Menuhin was also the driving force behind Bartók’s solo sonata, which he commissioned and premiered in 1944. An homage to Bach, it takes inspiration from his sonatas and partitas—bringing this program full circle.

The son of Daniel Barenboim and pianist Elena Bashkirova, with whom he regularly performs, Michael Barenboim also had a close working relationship with Pierre Boulez. The Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), founded by Boulez as part of Paris’s Centre Pompidou in the 1970s, is one of the world’s leading research institutions for music and acoustics.