A rare event for Cremona’s musical life.
From May 14 to 16, the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena will host the complete performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Three Sonatas and Three Partitas for Solo Violin, performed by Austrian violinist Gregor Reinberg in a three-concert cycle that stands among the most significant cultural events of the season.

A full performance of this monumental cornerstone of violin literature is an extremely rare occasion, even in a city like Cremona, universally recognized as the birthplace of the violin. For this reason, the project carries a special significance: not merely a high-level concert series, but also an initiative designed to further enhance the artistic and cultural richness of the territory by expanding its cultural offerings through a dialogue between music, history, spirituality, and the Cremonese violin-making tradition.

The idea originated within the cultural workshop of Magma APS and became reality thanks to the collaboration with the Touring Club and the Diocese of Cremona, which made it possible to present the cycle in the evocative setting of the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena.

For Reinberg, these Bach works represent far more than concert repertoire: they are “a lifelong task.” The violinist recalls having received the score of the Sonatas and Partitas for his tenth birthday, a gift that has accompanied him ever since.

“When I look at the annotations of the ten-year-old violin student I once was, I smile remembering how often I despaired trying to play even a small fragment of this music,” he says. “It was like having to climb a thousand-meter rock wall, slipping after only a few centimeters no matter where I tried to begin. And yet, quietly within me, there was the certainty that this music would be part of my life.”

According to the studies of German musicologist Helga Thöne, the three Sonatas were conceived by Bach in relation to the principal Christian feasts — Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost — and contain symbolic references linked to the motto: Ex Deo nascimur – In Christo morimur – Per Spiritum Sanctum reviviscimus.

In Bach’s original manuscript, each of the three four-movement Sonatas is followed by a freer-form Partita. Each pair of works thus creates an autonomous sonic universe, a kind of musical meditation on the great Christian feasts.

The Cremona cycle will unfold across three concerts: on May 14 with Sonata No. 1 in G minor and Partita No. 1 in B minor; on May 15 with Sonata No. 2 in A minor and Partita No. 2 in D minor; and on May 16 with Sonata No. 3 in C major and Partita No. 3 in E major.

The choice of Cremona carries precise symbolic meaning. “Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin probably represent the unsurpassable summit of the solo violin repertoire,” Reinberg explains. “This was possible also because, about 150 years earlier, the violin had been developed into its most perfect form precisely in Cremona.”

What makes the project even more special is the violinist’s personal connection with the city. In 2024, violin maker Martin Horvat built a new instrument for him, born from a close dialogue between musician and craftsman.

Having studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna under Ernst Kovacic, Gregor Reinberg is today concertmaster of the Wiener Bachsolisten and a member of the ensemble VeLA. During his career he has performed in prestigious venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Cologne Philharmonie, collaborating also with artists such as John Malkovich.

Below is the full interview.

How did the idea of performing the complete Sonatas and Partitas by Bach come about?

“It is evident that Bach conceived the three Sonatas and the three Partitas as a unified cycle. This is convincingly demonstrated, among other things, by the studies of the German musicologist Helga Thoene. One possibility would be to perform all six works in a single evening, but this would be very demanding both for the performer and for the audience. I believe that the solution we found — presenting one Sonata together with its corresponding Partita over three evenings — allows listeners to grasp the idea of the cycle while at the same time following all the details of this infinitely rich music with full attention.”

Why specifically Cremona?

“Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin probably represent the unsurpassable summit of the solo violin repertoire. This was possible also because, about 150 years earlier, the violin had been developed into its most perfect form precisely in Cremona. Through these compositions, Bach demonstrates that he understood like no one else the possibilities and the essence of this instrument, and knew how to exploit them fully. In a sense, he gathered the opportunities that the old Italian masters had placed in his hands in order to realize his own musical ideas. Bach’s compositions thus return to the very place that made their existence possible. Moreover, there is also a very contemporary connection with Cremona...”

Oh really? What connection is that?

“In 2024, Master Martin Horvat built a violin for me here in Cremona. In dialogue with me, he succeeded in creating an instrument that perfectly responds to my musical and technical needs. This violin allows me to translate Bach’s works into sound exactly as I hear them inwardly.

I am also especially happy to do this in the unique space of the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena in Cremona, because for Martin Horvat as well, space plays a fundamental role: sound arises from the interaction between musician, instrument, and environment. The fact that this church contains two frescoes depicting instruments that are among the immediate ‘ancestors’ of the violin creates an additional visible connection with this concert idea.”