Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is a staple that just about every major violinist performs and records. Indeed, as the early 20th-century music critic Lawrence Sommers wrote, the 1806 piece is the “ne plus ultra of fiddling ambition” and it “occupies a place of such transcendent glory in the musical firmament that its eminence is seldom disputed.” (Pause here to rinse that out of your mouth.) You can hear 33-year-old Dane Nikolaj Znaider play it on a violin that’s more than a half-century older than the concerto this week with the Cleveland Orchestra. Also on the program is Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. Franz Welser-Möst conducts. Showtime is 8 p.m. at Blossom Music Center (1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216.231.1111). Tickets: $19-$82. — Michael Gill
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2009.