Adagio after Hebrew Melodies
The popularity of his (first) violin concerto drove Max Bruch not just almost to despair - 'I cannot listen to this concerto any more', he wrote to his publisher - it also got in the way of the composer's remaining oeuvre. Wrongly, as is apparent in Kol Nidrei, the adagio 'based on Hebrew melodies', Op. 47, one of the most expressive Romantic solo works. Composed in 1881, it testifies to the composer's enthusiasm for folksongs and thrives on a passionate and warm tonal language.