He has beauty on the mind

Christian Tetzlaff is one of today's most consistently praised violinists, and much of the praise focuses on his intellect.

"Intelligent," "rigorous," "serious-minded" are common descriptions of his playing, and his interpretations of such 20th-century heavyweights as Schoenberg, Berg, and Ligeti have drawn wide acclaim.

But don't call him an intellectual.

"Ouch!" he says over the phone from Madrid when that label is proposed. "You picked the meanest and the worst word. I think I don't deserve that." He's laughing, but also quite serious that to him it conveys something dry and soulless - certainly no compliment. In fact, to hear him talk about his own artistry, he sounds like nothing so much as an old-fashioned romantic.

"There is only one thing on earth I want to do when I play a concert - that is to convince people of the beauty of the piece and the beauty of the composer's thought," he says. "That sometimes might involve something like intelligence - I don't deny. [But] all I try to do is to touch people's hearts."

Which is something Tetzlaff - who plays a highly anticipated duo recital with Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes tomorrow - is eminently capable of doing, as he's shown in collaborations with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. One in particular stands out: a radiant, emotionally wrenching performance of the Berg concerto in 2007.

Whatever label best applies, it's clear that Tetzlaff's musicianship has an unusual depth to it, privileging depth and interiority over virtuoso display. That may be due in part to his unorthodox training. Instead of following the path trod by most soloists - which involves endless practice in isolation - much of his early musical experience came in youth orchestras and playing chamber music with his peers.

"It has always been a part of my socialization," he says of those communal experiences. "Naturally, no teacher would advise you to go and play orchestra all the time." As a result, he says, "things really developed much later for me than for many of my colleagues. But maybe it's a very nice thing."

Chamber music remains a crucial and substantial part of his career, and he maintains several longstanding musical partnerships. Few are closer than the affiliation with Andsnes, with whom he has been playing for 17 years. Among its products is a stellar recording of Bartok's two violin sonatas released in 2004.

"Going back to pieces we have played 10 years ago, we are basically astonished," Tetzlaff says of preparing for this tour. "There are no big changes in tempo or dynamics - it's something on a different level. It's very subtle - how you make a small phrase. And it's a different level of freedom we now have in playing together."

Unusually, their program begins at the chronological end, with Janàcek's violin sonata and the D-minor sonata of Brahms. After intermission comes Mozart's F-major sonata, K.377, and Schubert's "Rondo Brillant."

"Honestly, behind this program there are hours and hours of deliberation," the violinist explains. "We have two brooding, dark Romantic pieces at the beginning and then we move to something, not bright, but classical and clear in comparison. We especially like the idea that we don't start with the Mozart sonata, which maybe would be an obvious choice. Instead, we present it as the masterpiece that it is in the middle of the program."

Tetzlaff mentions that a few days before our conversation, he had played the Brahms violin concerto for the 23d time in the space of a year. "And it was for me as beautiful as every time and even more so, the more comfortable you get with it. But there is another audience every night, so the idea that this could become boring is far away."

At Jordan Hall, presented by Celebrity Series of Boston; 617-482-6661, www.celebrityseries.org

The group Ensemble Florilège presents two concerts of Bach's rarely performed concertos for two, three, and four keyboards and orchestra. Soloists include Sylvia Berry, Ursula Dütschler, Leon Schelhase, and Michael Sponseller. Performances are tonight at St. Paul's Church in Brookline and Sunday at St. Anne's-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Lincoln.

Information: 617-776-4062, ensembleflorilege@gmail.com