Since Baiba Skride won the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2001, the Latvian violinist has played on all major music stages. In season 2019/2020 she was artist in residence of the Residentie Orkest but due to the worldwide corona pandemic not all concerts could take place. She is therefore very much looking forward to Beethoven's Violin Concerto next May 14.

The violinist comes from a musical family; both her parents and two sisters are also musicians. Skride was five years old when she gave her first concerts. When she was 10, she and her sister pianist Lauma Skride received an invitation to perform at the 1991 Danny Kaye International Children's Awards in The Hague. 'That was a big television show in which children from all over the world performed. Because it was my first trip outside Latvia, it made a big impression. I remember well that we drove through The Hague and I wanted to take in everything in detail. After the performance, I got a kiss on my cheek from Roger Moore and Audrey Hepburn, who presented the program. I didn't wash my face for two weeks after that.'

Yet Another Stradivarius
While many a violinist dreams of one day owning a Stradivarius, Skride now plays the famous violin maker's fourth instrument. She currently has the Yfrah Neaman Stradivarius on loan. "I have been very lucky. Before this I had a Stradivarius on loan from Gidon Kremer and just when I had to return it, the next one presented itself. Antonio Stradivari's violins are all special, yet there is no such thing as a perfect instrument. What ultimately matters is that an instrument inspires you. Then it doesn't matter what nameplate is on it.'

Genius emotional work
In an earlier interview, Skride called Beethoven's Violin Concerto the most unattainable violin concerto but at the same time the piece that gives you the most satisfaction. 'This Violin Concerto is the father of all romantic violin concertos and I have great respect for it. It is an important work in music history, monumental, emotional and brilliantly written. When you play it, you imagine yourself in heaven for a moment and nothing else exists at that moment.'