Keywords: Subscription Concert, Symphony Concert
| Paavo Järvi | Conductor |
| Alena Baeva | Violin |
| Franz Schubert | Symphony No. 5 in B flat major D 485 |
| Béla Bartók | Violin concerto No. 1 Sz. 36 |
| Franz Schubert | Symphony No. 6 in C major D 589 ›Kleine C-Dur‹ |
These events are similar in terms of concept, place, musicians or the program.
Reportedly, for many years, Alexander von Schlippenbach was considered the only European able to play Monk’s Off Minor properly. An exquisite proof of how well the German free jazz legend felt Monk was the album Monk’s Casino, probably the first instance in history, in which all, nearly seventy, of Monk’s compositions were recorded together. The ensemble, made up of great personalities of European improvised music, such as Axel Dörner and Rudi Mahall – whose personal attitudes to Monk are no less interesting – proved perfect and has now been performing together for twenty years. The group’s formula has not burnt out, as the last thing to be expected from Schlippenbach is an orthodox approach to originals. Nevertheless, there is respect and love for the music by the composer of Epistrophy to be found in every sound of those, very personal, interpretations. Tomasz Gregorczyk Concert duration: approximately 90 minutes
The Concertgebouw is one of the best concert halls in the world, famous for its exceptional acoustics and varied programme. It serves as the home base of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and features performances by the world’s best orchestras, conductors and soloists. Bernard Haitink once praised The Concertgebouw as the best instrument in the orchestra that it houses. The wide-ranging programme offers an excellent selection of classical, pop and jazz music. Attend a concert and have an evening you will never forget. Come experience inspiring music in the beautiful surroundings of the Main Hall or the more intimate Recital Hall.
What if, on Valentine’s Day, we stopped worrying about being behind the times, and rejoiced in the spirit of bygone days?On 14th February, that special evening, the NOSPR concert hall will resound with melodies from the first talking movies, the unforgettable compositions by Jerzy Petersburski and Henryk Wars. There will be no dearth of hits we know from the characteristic interpretations by Mieczysław Fogg, Hanka Ordonówna and Adam Aston!The 1920s and 1930s were the golden era of Polish song and the music of the period brings to mind specific associations: elegance, humour and a nostalgic romanticism. The NOSPR stage will host excellent musicians and actors recreating the unique atmosphere of that time. Such pieces as Każdemu wolno kochać [Everyone’s allowed to love], Już nie zapomnisz mnie [No more will you forget me], Tango milonga and Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą [Got a date with her at nine], in charming new arrangements by Paweł Steczek, will be performed by the NOSPR chamber orchestra and guest artists, such as Dorota Miśkiewicz, Wojciech Myrczek, Dorota Segda and Cezary Żak. This will be an evening filled with various shades of love.On Valentine’s Day, indulge yourself in romantic nostalgia.Julia BroniowskaConcert duration: approximately 100 minutes
Giya Kancheli’s music arouses controversy in the world of contemporary music. Lyrical, sometimes even sentimental, immersed in the spirituality of Eastern Christianity, it remained a separate phenomenon against the background of the music composed in the countries of the former Soviet Union right before the fall of the empire and afterwards. From a Western-music-oriented perspective, its characteristic nostalgia remains unintelligible for many. The title of Chiaroscuro refers to the renaissance-baroque artistic technique of working with bold contrasts between light and dark. In Kancheli’s violin concerto, the contrasts seem to be outlining visible shapes, only sonic ones, clearly. Whether we remain on the surface of that music or let it harmonise with our emotions remains much more personal of a matter than it is in the case of the Western conventions that are closer to us.Zygmunt Krauze’s Serenade also carries with it a nostalgic charge, yet reined in with greater moderation. While listening to it, we can hear echoes of earlier popular music and an idealised elegance included within the composer’s individual language, which in turn is still ringing with echoes unism, on which Krauze would build his separateness in the early 70s. The reference to the genre of serenade, associated with night and love, is reflected in the composer’s dedication: „A ma femme Isabelle.” The personal tone of the concert will be completed with Bedřich Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 in E minor in an expressive orchestration by the legendary conductor George Szell, which brings the work’s title, “From My Life”, closer to the surface.Adam SuprynowiczConcert duration (intermission included): approximately 110 minutes
The Belgian creator, pedagogue and organ virtuoso, Joseph Jongen, describes his 1926 composition as follows: „The Symphonie c oncertante is not an organ concerto, but rather an orchestral work in which the organ is another orchestra that takes the leading role it rightly deserves. There is no thematic or rhythmic connection between the four movements of this extensive work; the focus is set on the stylistic unity of the different movements.” His friend, Eugène Ysaÿe, also pointed out the richness of the sounds of the organ, which creates an impression of coming into contact with “a second orchestra”. Nevertheless, the beginnings of what became one of the most interesting works in the 20th-century organ repertoire (also recorded by Karol Mossakowski) were not easy: commissioned by Rodman Wanamaker, the owner of a famous department store in Philadelphia, the piece needed to wait two years to be premiered, due to a series of unfortunate events including the death of Jongen’s father.Dramatic in its expression, Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7. in D minor was also a result of a commission, this time one from Royal Philharmonic Society in London which had just awarded him with honorary membership. During the 1885 premiere of the work, Dvořák stood at the conductor’s podium himself. The event was described by leading musical magazines and a critic writing for the „Athenaeum” daily noted the following: “We are inclined on a first hearing to place this new symphony even above those of Brahms, which it equals in masterly treatment and exquisite instrumentation while it surpasses them in spontaneity of invention.”Agnieszka Nowok-ZychConcert duration (intermission included): approximately 100 minutes
Concert Pulse