Barcarole op. 135/1

Even as a child, the composer, violinist and teacher Louis Spohr caused a furore with his musical talent, and very soon his reputation as a brilliant violin virtuoso preceded him. On his numerous concert tours through the whole of Europe, he played time and again the concertos he had composed for his instrument or played his own works in smaller ensembles. Apart from these 'serious' chamber music works, i.e. sonatas, trios, quartets, etc., Spohr also wrote a number of salon pieces: the first series with six titles as opus 127 and the second as opus 135 which opens with the 'Barcarole in G major' presented here. The success of the salon pieces must have been great, and the composer liked to perform these pieces himself.