One of the pieces in William Hagen‘s repertoire is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35.
That composition is part of Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra’s All Tchaikovsky concert on Feb. 8 at Trinity Christian College’s Ozinga Chapel in Palos Heights.
“It is as good as violin concertos get,” said Hagen, who is the featured guest violinist for Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.
“This piece of music is one of the best creations of the human race. It’s probably the most popular violin concerto. There’s no concerto more exciting for the audience. There’s absolutely beautiful melodies and thrilling, virtuosic, showstopping stuff,” he said.
“It’s just a fantastic piece of music. It takes you on a journey from beginning to end. I’ve played it quite a bit but I’ve never grown tired of it. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is just one of my favorite things. I can’t wait to play it. I dearly love it and that’s what I hope the audience gets to hear.”
One of Hagen’s previous performances of the piece was for the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto program conducted by Symphony in C music director Stilian Kirov in 2018 in Collingswood, New Jersey.
“He’s great. He was an excellent conductor and a nice guy. What more could you want? I got to perform with him. We had a long car ride back to New York together and it was fun to have a nice conversation with him,” said Hagen about Kirov who is also music director of Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra.
“I’m really flattered and glad that he asked me to perform again.”
All Tchaikovsky also features “Dance of the Tumblers” from the opera “The Snow Maiden” and Symphony No. 2 by the Russian composer known for several works including the 1812 Overture, “Romeo and Juliet” and the ballets “The Nutcracker,” “The Sleeping Beauty” and “Swan Lake.”
“Tchaikovsky didn’t even decide to be a professional musician until he was in his 20s,” Hagen said.
“You can hear that passion in his music. The two things that he loved most were Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Italian opera. That’s what Tchaikovsky loved to listen to and honestly that’s what most of us love to listen to nowadays. His music is extremely accessible.
“He takes the melodic, singing qualities of Mozart and Italian opera and makes it his own. What you really get from Tchaikovsky’s music is sincerity. That’s one of the best possible things you could want in any art form and then it’s one of the most beautiful sounds you’ve ever heard.”
Hagen, who performs on the 1732 Arkwright Lady Rebecca Sylvan Stradivarius on loan from the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation, first heard violin at age 3 and started taking lessons a year later.
His instructors have included Robert Lipsett at Colburn Community School of Performing Arts and later Colburn Conservatory of Music both in Los Angeles, Itzhak Perlman at the Julliard School in New York City and Christian Tetzlaff at Kronberg Academy in Germany.
“I love violin because it’s such a vocal instrument. I don’t have a great singing voice but I can sing through the violin and it is in a lot of ways more versatile than the human voice,” Hagen said.
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“I love that vocal aspect but then there’s all these other things that you can do. It’s a really versatile instrument and there’s so much good music written for it. It’s a great instrument. I love the sound of it, the look of the violin, the feel of it and everything about it.”
In addition to upcoming performances in France and Spain, Hagen is looking forward to the Feb. 22 release of his first album, “Danse Russe” with pianist Albert Cano Smit. The 21 tracks include Nathan Milstein’s arrangement of Sergei Prokofiev’s “Tales of an Old Grandmother.”
“When I sat down to think of an album to record, I wanted to have something that my grandmother would like to listen to but that my musician friends would also like to listen to,” Hagen said.
“Everything in the album is written in the fairy tale sort of fantasy world. It’s also lots of dance music like ballet music. I just really love the music on the album and I can’t wait to put it out.”
All Tchaikovsky
When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8
Where: Trinity Christian College’s Ozinga Chapel, 6601 W. College Drive, Palos Heights
Tickets: $37 bronze; $47 silver; $57 gold; $67 platinum; $10 students; $27 We Pick Your Seat (must be ordered in advance)
Information: 708-481-7774; www.ipomusic.org
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer for the Daily Southtown.