Haydn 2032, Vol. 17: Per il Luigi Dmitry Smirnov, Kammerorchester Basel & Giovanni Antonini

• Joseph Haydn (1732 –-1809): Symphony No. 36 in E-Flat Major, Hob. I:36:
• 1 Haydn: Symphony No. 36 in E-Flat Major, Hob. I:36: I. Vivace 07:46
• 2 Haydn: Symphony No. 36 in E-Flat Major, Hob. I:36: II. Adagio 04:30
• 3 Haydn: Symphony No. 36 in E-Flat Major, Hob. I:36: III. Minuet - Trio 03:20
• 4 Haydn: Symphony No. 36 in E-Flat Major, Hob. I:36: IV. Allegro 03:52
• Symphony No. 16 in B-Flat Major, Hob. I:16:
• 5 Haydn: Symphony No. 16 in B-Flat Major, Hob. I:16: I. Allegro 04:44
• 6 Haydn: Symphony No. 16 in B-Flat Major, Hob. I:16: II. Andante 06:11
• 7 Haydn: Symphony No. 16 in B-Flat Major, Hob. I:16: III. Finale. Presto 03:01
• Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob. VIIa:1 "Concerto fatto per il Luigi":
• 8 Haydn: Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob. VIIa:1 "Concerto fatto per il Luigi": I. Allegro moderato 09:25
• 9 Haydn: Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob. VIIa:1 "Concerto fatto per il Luigi": II. Adagio 04:44
• 10 Haydn: Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob. VIIa:1 "Concerto fatto per il Luigi": III. Finale. Presto 04:00
• Symphony No. 13 in D Major, Hob. I:13:
• 11 Haydn: Symphony No. 13 in D Major, Hob. I:13: I. Allegro Molto 05:13
• 12 Haydn: Symphony No. 13 in D Major, Hob. I:13: II. Adagio cantabile 08:11
• 13 Haydn: Symphony No. 13 in D Major, Hob. I:13: III. Minuet - Trio 04:12
• 14 Haydn: Symphony No. 13 in D Major, Hob. I:13: IV. Finale. Allegro molto 04:37
• Total Runtime 01:13:46

Info for Haydn 2032, Vol. 17: Per il Luigi

Per il Luigi is the 17th volume of the complete Haydn 2032 collection and presents a number of Haydn's earliest symphonies; these had been composed to display the talent of the musicians who had joined the Esterházy court orchestra during the same period as Haydn himself. The centre of the programme is the Symphony No. 13 in D major from 1763, whose orchestration includes four horns and whose final movement features a prefiguration of the famous theme of Mozart's 'Jupiter' symphony, to be composed twenty-five years later. The violin concerto in C major is marked fatto per il Luigi in Haydn's catalogue of works and was dedicated to Luigi Tomasini (1741-1808), a violin virtuoso born in Pesaro and a friend of Haydn. Two centuries later, the young Baroque violin virtuoso Dmitri Smirnov now brilliantly champions this repertoire with the Kammerorchester Basel under Giovanni Antonini.

Dmitry Smirnov, violin
Kammerorchester Basel
Giovanni Antonini, conductor

Dmitry Smirnov
is widely regarded as one of the exceptional personalities of the young generation of violinists. The ARD prizewinner performs as a soloist with leading orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra or the Festival Strings Lucerne and in concert halls from Carnegie Hall in New York to Nikkei Hall in Tokyo. As an ‘enfant terrible’, he inspires audiences with his bold artistic vision and outstanding virtuosity, including in historically informed interpretations of traditional repertoire. As a sought-after chamber musician, he regularly performs with partners such as Sol Gabetta and Ilya Gringolts, and also acts as concertmaster and soloist for Giovanni Antonini’s ‘Haydn Project 2032’.

In the coming season, Dmitry will make his debut with orchestras such as the Oslo Philharmonic and the Stuttgart Philharmonic and will act as concertmaster for Cappella Gabetta’s European tour. In March 2026, at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, he will present the world premiere of the violin concerto by the illustrious Russian composer Gavriil Popov, which was thought to have been lost and which he completed after months of archival and transcription work. Recording projects with the lutenist and Harnoncourt student Luca Pianca with works by Paganini as well as the collaboration with Ilya Gringolts for Vivaldi’s double concertos will enrich his discography to date, which already contains solo works from J. S. Bach to Bartók as well as various romantic violin concertos (on gut strings).

Dmitry has won prizes at numerous international competitions, including first prizes at the Moscow Oistrakh Competition (2006), the Tibor Varga Competition (2015) and the Concours d’Interprétation Musicale de Lausanne (2017), second prizes at the International Yehudi Menuhin Competition (2008) and the ARD Music Competition (2021), a controversial elimination in the semi-finals of the Queen Elisabeth Competition (2024) and three prizes at the Concours international Long-Thibaud-Crespin in 2018, including the Critics’ Prize for the best interpretation of contemporary music. He is the winner of numerous scholarships and his work is supported by generous donors such as the Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation.

Dmitry regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician at renowned festivals, including the Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, LuganoMusica, Heidelberger Frühling, Rheingau Music Festival, Davos Festival, Grafenegg Festival, Stresa Festival, Solsberg Festival, Festival delle Muse Salentine and Inverno Musicale (Brazil).

As a soloist, he has worked with conductors such as Giovanni Antonini, Heinz Holliger, Philippe Herreweghe, Vladimir Spivakov, Gilbert Varga, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Philipp Chizhevsky, Delyana Lazarova and Aurel Dawidiuk and has performed with orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Il Giardino Armonico, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Novaya Rossiya State Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi, Festival Strings Lucerne, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Kammerorchester Basel, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, Argovia Philharmonic, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto and the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie.

Dmitry was born into a musical family in St. Petersburg, where he received his first violin lessons at the age of four and continued his education at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory. Subsequent studies took him to the Haute École de Musique Lausanne in the class of Pavel Vernikov followed by studies with Rainer Schmidt at the Basel Music Academy. In the context of baroque music, Dmitry also performs as a violist, cellist and harpsichordist. His main instrument is a violin by Philipp Bonhoeffer (2018).

Booklet for Haydn 2032, Vol. 17: Per il Luigi