Franziska Hölscher on the freedom enjoyed by the composer and the difficulties faced by the performer Felix Schmidt: It would seem that the works in CD programmes are usually chosen for their popularity; originality and artistic quality are often bypassed to optimize sales. On this CD, however, you have made no concessions to popularity. What were the criteria that led to your selection?

Franziska Hölscher: Regardless of what other people may think, popularity is not a criterion for me. I want to draw listeners’ attention to these works, which, in my opinion, are among the most important compositions of their time. FS: That is a way of popularizing them. FH: I suppose you could put it that way.

In recital programmes I select works to create connections and dialogue among different time periods: we can shed light on contemporary music from the angle of early music, or we can find modern traits in works of the past.

Berio’s Sequenza VIII for Violin was my point of departure. As one of the essential 20th-century works for violin, it occupies a central place in my repertoire, and has been part of my life for many years. Every time I come back to it, the Sequenza reveals new dimensions of sound. We can likewise note a certain tension between contemporary and early music in the works of Berio’s compatriot, Salvatore Sciarrino. His distinct style often explores the boundaries of timbre; Sciarrino’s typical nervousness in fast movements is reminiscent, in turn, of the music of Robert Schumann. And Sciarrino’s figures of rhetoric hark back explicitly to Baroque music. Schumann’s sonata likewise associates Baroque forms – specifically, a chorale – with progressive techniques of composition and means of expression. Thus, the relation between the present and the past is the central theme connecting all the works on this CD. (from the Booklet Notes/Interview)