This album is built around a remarkable instrument: the Guarneri del Gesù “Sainton Betti” violin, once played by Prosper Sainton. More than a solo voice, the violin shapes both the repertoire and the narrative of the project.

From this starting point a journey through the golden age of the Romantic violin unfolds. Works by Niccolò Paganini, Gioachino Rossini, Hector Berlioz and Richard Strauss reflect the musical world Sainton inhabited, while bringing renewed attention to this fascinating yet overlooked figure.

At the heart of the project, violinist Dmitry Smirnov reveals the instrument’s full expressive range, joined by Victor Jacob and the Kammerorchester Basel. Together, they create a vivid dialogue between soloist and orchestra. A programme that connects repertoire, instrument and history into a single, coherent musical narrative.