Violinist Dmitry Smirnov steps into the world of a legendary instrument on Stranger Sainton — the Guarneri del Gesù of 1744 known as the “Sainton Betti,” on loan from a private Swiss collector. The programme traces the life of the violin’s namesake, Prosper Sainton (1813–1890), pairing his own Rêverie and Thème italien varié with Paganini’s I palpiti, Berlioz’s Rêverie et caprice, Rossini’s Andante con variazioni, and the suite from Richard Strauss’s Der Bürger als Edelmann — a work that hands the spotlight to Kammerorchester Basel under Victor Jacob, letting even this singular violin sound alongside a full orchestral voice rather than alone.

Dmitry Smirnov – violin
Kammerorchester Basel
Victor Jacob