Rachlin made an appearance at the Castle Riding Hall in Český Krumlov as a soloist-violinist and at the same time as a conductor and in this role he conducted the South Czech Philharmonic. “It was a great pleasure for me to perform with this orchestra, their performance was brilliant. I am glad that I was able to appear here, at this important festival, at which really famous names perform. The reception of the audience was very warm. I also appreciate the work of the organizers who have made it possible for this festival to be held for twenty-six years. I know what I am talking about. I organized a festival in Dubrovnik for twelve years myself. It was more chamber-like than this festival in Český Krumlov, so I know what a demanding task it is and how much work it requires.” When asked how he feels about assuming both roles – of a violin player and of a conductor – at the same time and whether it did not make him feel as a split personality, he answered, “It’s all about music. It doesn’t matter whether I’m dancing, teaching, playing the viola, the violin or whether I’m a player of an orchestra. It isn’t really about the profession, it’s more about the experience with music and about developing the music.” To the surprise of all those present, he added, “Actually, the violin is not my favourite instrument, but in spite of that, I have been playing the violin for the past forty years,” he smiled. “My favourite instrument has always been the cello. Perhaps because my father was a cellist. And the very first classical music composition which I heard in my life, when I was two years old, was the Cello Concerto in B minor by Antonín Dvořák, when my father listened to the new recording of Mstislav Rostropovich with the Berlin Philharmonic and Herbert von Karajan from 1976. My love for music actually started with Antonín Dvořák and with listening to this composition. It is branded in my memory and Dvořák is close to my heart.”

The other soloist of the evening was young Canadian violist Sarah McElravy. They often perform together. For the performance with the South Czech Philharmonic they selected Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for violin, viola and orchestra. Sarah McElravy only confirmed Julian’s impressions from the concert, “It is really beautiful here – an inspirational hall, great orchestra and the audience was absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, we haven’t had much time to see the town, about which we have heard a lot, but I hope that we will manage to do so.” After a solo performance Rachlin took the baton in hand and performed Mozart’s Haffner Symphony. The festival president, Mr. Jaromír Boháč, assessed Rachlin’s interpretation of this piece in the following words, “I believe that we have witnessed an outstanding artistic performance. It must have impressed even experienced listeners, as playing and at the same time conducting Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major at such a high level is top-class art.” As an encore Rachlin included a very demanding composition, Sonata No. 3 in D minor Ballade, written by one of the best violin virtuosos of the beginning of the 20^th century, Belgian composer Eugène Ysaÿe. “Actually, I’m sort of jealous of him,” said Rachlin, “because besides being an outstanding violinist, he was also a composer of such beautiful compositions as the one which I played as an encore tonight. Unfortunately, I’m not a composer myself, I don’t have the talent for that, although I wish I had.” After the end of the concert, both protagonists of the night participated in a meeting with the members of the IMF Friends Club, where they answered questions of the viewers. One of the questions was about Rachlin’s roots, “I was born in Lithuania in Vilnius but in 1978, when I was 3 years old, my parents left this country and moved to Vienna, where I grew up. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Lithuanian. My father was Russian and therefore we always spoke Russian at home. I use so many languages that I don’t actually have a mother tongue. I would say that my real mother tongue is only music,” is how Rachlin concluded the meeting.