This Brahms cadenza is the most beautiful violin playing you’ll hear all year

26 January 2018, 11:27 | Updated: 26 January 2018, 11:34

By Lizzie Davis

Julian Rachlin was performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto on his beautiful Stradivarius violin with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra when he stopped the show with this jaw-dropping cadenza

Julian Rachlin is a violinist who was the star soloist at last Sunday’s afternoon concert with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

The second piece on the programme was Brahms’ Violin Concerto – it was the only violin concerto Brahms wrote and it was dedicated to his friend the violinist Joseph Joachim.

Today it’s regarded as one of the most difficult pieces for the violin. But on Sunday in Liverpool’s beautiful art deco Philharmonic Hall, Rachlin made it look easy. This cadenza is one of the most fiendish moments in the whole piece. 

Rachlin performs on a violin by the legendary maker Antonio Stradivari. It's one of only around 600 instruments that survive by the maker and it's over 300 years old. 

The whole concert was live-streamed on Classic FM’s Facebook page – and you can watch it here: