Switzerland
Thomas de Hartmann, Forgotten Ukrainian Composer, Performed at Verbier Festival by Bell and Harding
On July 23, 2026, violinist Joshua Bell and conductor Daniel Harding performed Thomas de Hartmann's Violin Concerto op. 66 at the Verbier Festival's main tent. Hartmann (1885–1956) was a Ukrainian composer whose concerto is considered an unjustly overlooked masterpiece of 20th-century repertoire. Composed in 1943 during his exile in France, this four-movement concerto serves as a tribute to war victims. The work weaves together Jewish musical motifs, folk themes, and lyrical passages, incorporating quotations such as Glinka's Kamarinskaya, while maintaining constant tension through marked ruptures between soloist and orchestra.