PANDEMIC VARIATIONS Genin/Halvorsen/Händel

Misha Nodelman, Violin / Andreas Kosinski, Viola During the second lockdown in late 2020, Misha Nodelman asked @Vladimir Genin to compose Pandemic Variations on the theme of Handel’s Passacaglia, which could be performed together with Halvorsen’s famous variations. Vladimir decided to insert he’s own variations in the middle of Halvorsen’s cycle and begin them with an unobtrusive transposition of musicians and listeners to the present day: as a counterpoint to Handel’s Passacaglia is heardJohn Williams’ theme from Schindler’s List. Soon another sign of the pandemic emerges: the sounds of Skype: after all, the musicians have been forced to give lessons online all this time. Despite the FFP2 mask, the violinist contracts the virus - the musician clearly develops a fever. Obsessed with music, he feverishly plays shredded phrases from famous works of violin literature from Vivaldi to Paganini to Saint-Saëns. He threatens to go mad and is taken away in an ambulance after