For these two concerts, at the Cité de la Musique and at the Volcan Scène nationale du Havre, David Grimal and the Dissonances performed three works by two major romantic composers of the second half of the 19th century.

The work that opened these concerts is also the one that begins the opera of the same name composed by Dvořák in 1875. "Vanda" refers to the eponymous princess who according to Polish legend ruled Krakow.

Dvořák's violin concerto was written in 1879 for Joseph Joachim. This is the same violinist for whom Brahms had also dedicated a concerto at the same time. Although Joachim never played the piece, the work remains popular with instrumentalists, conductors and audiences today.

The orchestra is familiar with Brahms, having performed the German composer's complete symphonies between 2013 and 2015. The Third Symphony composed in 1883 was recognised and much appreciated by its contemporaries, "its Nordic flamboyance and ballad-like atmosphere [...] ends with a finale animated by a sense of urgency that nonetheless closes in sweetness" (Philharmonie de Paris, 2022).