Pierre Rode was one of the giants of the violin world. He was a performer of superb technique – he premièred Beethoven’s last Violin Sonata in Vienna – and wrote a large amount of music for his instrument, most prominently 13 concertos. They exhibit the highest qualities of the French School: grace, lyricism, fleetness and fluency.

The Third is grandiose and brilliant, the Fourth is tauter and gloriously agile, whilst the Sixth is one of his greatest, most famous and complete statements in the concerto form. The first release in this series earned Friedemann Eichhorn the highest plaudits: “sweetness of phrasing … with the delicacy of a caress – while skirting the technical minefi elds as if they didn’t exist.” (Fanfare).

These concertos were often given as student works, but seem now to have fallen out of favour on disc. This music represents one of the most important schools of violin playing, written by a master performer-composer.

Friedemann Eichhorn is professor of violin at the Liszt School of Music in Weimar, and is head of the String Department and Artistic Director of the International Louis-Spohr-Competition. Since 2007 he has also taught at the Summer Academy of the Mozarteum in Salzburg.