Francesca Dego makes debut with St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Violinist Francesca Dego made her debut with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra this weekend for three concerts where she performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto with conductor John Storgårds at Touhill Performing Arts Center. The performances juxtaposed Brahms’ Concerto, written for the composer’s friend Joseph Joachim, with Sibelius’ Lemminkäinen Suite. If you missed it, Saturday’s concert is available to stream on the St Louis Public Radio website for a month.
No stranger to the piece, Dego has taken the work to the stage and studio; she made her debut with Houston Symphony in March where ‘she drew the audience into her musical world’ (EarRelevant, 2025). Her 2024 recording of the Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Dalia Stasevska awarded Dego the prestigious Franco Abbiati prize and was for Chandos with whom she records exclusively. Dego says of Brahms’ Violin Concerto, “…whenever I play it, I feel mountains of energy of all different kinds. It’s been a part of me since I first played it at age 15, and I feel as though I’ve matured with it. It’s a symphonic work despite being a concerto…it’s a piece where collaboration with the orchestra and conductor is so important; you have to know when to push, and when to listen and follow.” (The Strad, June 2023).