Violinist Robert McDuffie, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, set for Mechanics Hall

Johannes Brahms' Violin Concerto in D Major has been called one of the greatest works in the violin repertoire.

It is "music that runs the gamut between smoldering ferocity and tranquil introspection, encompassing a universe of expression," according to one description of the concerto which was composed in 1878.

But for renowned American violinist Robert McDuffie "it was a piece I never performed well," he acknowledged. "I just didn't invest in it the way I should. I don't know exactly why."

The pandemic gave him the opportunity to revisit the work. "The pandemic was a dreadful time but it did allow me to truly get to know the Brahms concerto," he said. "I spent a lot of time on it, and I'm glad I did."

Starting Feb. 12 in Fairfax, Va., McDuffie is on a tour with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Steven Mercurio with a program that features the Brahms Violin Concerto as well as Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.

The program will be performed at Mechanics Hall at 8 p.m. Feb. 17 in a concert presented by Music Worcester. The night before, the program is scheduled to be performed in Carnegie Hall in New York City. The tour concludes Feb. 19 in Newark, N.J.

It's important and potentially breathtaking programing, but no less of importance to the busy and multifaceted McDuffie will be an upcoming April 15 performance where the music featured will be R.E.M. and R.E.M.'s Mike Mills.

And PBS stations are currently airing "A Night of Georgia Music" that includes McDuffie playing R.E.M., the Allman Brothers and Otis Redding, among other musical greats from the state.

You could say that McDuffie is a cross-over musician.

"I do. If we don't connect with the larger culture we're gonna be irrelevant in classical music," he said during a recent interview. "When only 2% of all albums are classified as classical there's an issue here."

McDuffie is no stranger to Worcester audiences and Mechanics Hall having performed there two or three times before, he said. "I'm thrilled to be be at Mechanics Hall," he said. "It's a special room. I've certainly enjoyed it."

He was originally scheduled to make the Brahms Violin Concerto tour with the Munich Symphony Orchestra, but the Czech National Symphony Orchestra took its place. "I don't exactly know what happened," McDuffie said, but the world of touring is still in upheaval due to such matters as the lingering effects of the pandemic, visas, and such like.

The Czech National Symphony Orchestra is highly regarded and performed at Mechanics Hall in 2019. Mercurio, music director of the orchestra since 2019, has a varied background as an American conductor and composer and is a sought after collaborator for many award winning recordings, arrangements and film projects. In that regard, McDuffie and Mercurio are like-minded and know of each other.

"It's the first time I've worked with him," McDuffie said. "I've always liked him."

Regardless of orchestral changes, Brahms' Violin Concerto was always McDuffie's choice for the touring program, he said.

Since intensively exploring the work during the pandemic "I think I found more of a sense of authenticity from my end, where I wasn't beholden to other interpretations," McDuffie said.

"I think I was able, if this is the right word, to manipulate the piece to suit my own artistic personality. I'm more comfortable with my own vision for the piece."

The concerto has a powerful but intricate first movement, a slow but expressive second movement, and a dance-like third.

"I think it's exquisite," McDuffie said. "It's a piece where you can be passionate but you don't want to be obnoxious ... The third movement, it's fun."

McDuffie is originally from Macon, Georgia, and studied violin at the Juilliard School in New York City. Grammy-nominated, he has appeared as a soloist with the world’s foremost orchestras on five continents. He plays a 1735 Guarneri del Gesù violin, the “Ladenburg,” which is owned by a limited partnership he formed. McDuffie is also the founder of the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy and the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon.

One of McDuffie's next live, in-person performances will have a Macon connection.

The concert presented by the Wynston-Salem Symphony in Winston-Salem, N.C. on April 15 will include selections from R.E.M.’s legendary playlist newly reimagined for orchestra and the R.E.M.’s Mills performing his Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and Orchestra alongside McDuffie.

McDuffie and Mills grew up as friends in Macon, and Mills has written his Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and Orchestra for him.

McDuffie has also shared the stage with Rolling Stones pianist Chuck Leavell and the late Gregg Allman in "Midnight Rider" and with actor and playwright Anna Deavere Smith in an adaptation of Martin Luther King’s "Letter from Birmingham Jail."

Last March, a performance of "A Night of Georgia Music" was recorded live for broadcast on PBS stations around the country. The musical selections included numbers by R.E.M., Otis Redding, Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers Band, Outkast, Gram Parsons, Gladys Knight and the Pips, James Brown, and Brooke Benton, plus Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and Orchestra by Mills. The musicians were McDuffie, violin; Mills, bass guitar and keyboard; Chuck Leavell, piano; John Neff, guitar; William Tonks, guitar; Patrick Ferguson, drums/percussion; Ward Stare, conductor; and students and alumni from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings.

McDuffie said he was happy with the way the performance went.

"I was extremely pleased. It's all great music from Allman brothers, Gladys Knight, Otis Redding. It was inspiring actually to be on stage with these expert interpreters," he said.

"Rock and roll was part of my life growing up in Georgia," he said. "I grew up with the Allman Brothers, so yeah, absolutely I love it."

Meanwhile, contemporary composer Philip Glass has dedicated his Second Violin Concerto, “The American Four Seasons,” to McDuffie. The album "Icons," featuring McDuffie and pianist Elizabeth Pridgen, was released last fall and includes sonatas of Philip Glass and John Corigliano as well as "Road Moves" by Worcester's John Adams.

"I think it's essential you don't stay stuck," McDuffie said. "But if you're gonna branch out it has to be important music. You can't just do it for the sake of doing it."

After the Brahms concerts are done "then it's back to rock 'n' roll (April 15)," he said, and a Philip Glass performance. 2023 will also include the 20th anniversary of the Rome Chamber Music Festival with McDuffie on hand.

"I just want to do the projects that are close to me."

Czech National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Steven Mercurio; Robert McDuffie, violinist — presented by Music Worcester

When: 8 p.m. Feb. 17

Where: Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester

How much: $45-$65; students, $17.50; youth 18 and under, $7.50. www.musicworcester.org

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Violinist Robert McDuffie seeks new meaning at Mechanics Hall concert