{oh!} TRIO / Michaela Koudelková / Tasting French Music

Originalklang Ensemble Diderot with French baroque music

The Ensemble Diderot explores the diverse beauties of baroque chamber music. For this concert, the French trio sonata takes centre stage. These are musical treasures full of dance – like vigour and melodic elegance, in which two melodic voices are intertwined with a bass line. Great composers like François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau focused on the genre, but lesser-known names can also be discovered on this programme – such as that of Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, who was patronised by King Louis XIV and was considered a “miracle of the century” during her lifetime.

NOSPR / Fournillier / Infinitely elegant. French music

For most of the 19th century, the French romanticism was seeking a way of its own, trying not to fall within the orbit of German influence – César Franck, however, eventually preferred to yield to the inspiration to be found in those, simultaneously finding a voice of his own in the Symphony in D minor. It was, of course, characterised by a high density of harmony, but also by refined and gripping themes, as well as a specific melancholy and an unusual multiplicity of timbres in a sonically opulent orchestra. Thus, he created a work perceived as one of the most excellent symphonies of the century.Gabriel Fauré belongs to the next generation already, one turning towards the French clarity. This is not yet impressionism, but it is already a music shining with its inner brilliance, esoteric and ethereal, and at the same time infinitely subtle and elegant. There is also a gentle glow, that of the soft and warm autumn sun, to be found in his Requiem, exceptional in the whole history of music. This mass for the dead originated as a mass indeed: for the liturgies in the church that Fauré played the organ and gave concerts in. The terror of death turns into what is more like nostalgic reflection, looking into the netherworld with bright eyes, not expecting any shock whatsoever.Jakub PuchalskiConcert duration: approximately 100 minutes

Pearls in Baroque: The French Connection of Purcell

Classical Evergreen: The Four Seasons

The album Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd is one of the most popular musical works of the 20th century. It stayed almost sixteen years on the Billboard magazine list, which collects the two hundred most bought and listened to recordings in the USA in a given week. In the world of popular music, the British band remains unsurpassed. So perhaps a worthy rival should be sought in musical scores and concert performances? Who has not listened at least once to Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or Beethoven's Fifth Symphony?Among the classical evergreens, however, Vivaldi's Four Seasons remains unrivalled. The popular violin concertos have received over a thousand recordings, one of which (Nigel Kennedy, 1986) has sold three million copies. They have also been played in at least five hundred films and undergone myriad remixes, the most popular of which is that by Max Richter, and perhaps the oldest was written by Bach himself. It is hard to believe that back in the 1940s, only some people remembered the then more than two-hundred-year-old works. Several pioneering recordings produced shortly afterwards made it clear to the world that no one could talk about feelings associated with atmospheric phenomena more beautifully than the Red Priest in the age of mass phonography and synthesisers. And yet, The Four Seasons is only just being rediscovered thanks to the exploration of historical performance. We wonder if the Red Priest would enjoy the A.D. 2025 version of {oh!} Orkiestra... Michał MendykConcert duration: approximately 90 minutes

Music for Queen Mary

The Concertgebouw’s famous Main Hall is one of the best concert halls in the world, well-known for its exceptional acoustics and special atmosphere. In the Main Hall, you will feel history. Here, Gustav Mahler conducted his own compositions, as did Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky. Sergei Rachmaninoff played his own piano concertos in the Main Hall. This is also where musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, Vladimir Horowitz and Yehudi Menuhin gave legendary performances. Right up to now, the Main Hall offers a stage to the world’s best orchestras and musicians. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Main Hall for yourself!

NOSPR / Borowicz / Le Sage / The French musical legend

French music has prided itself on its separateness for ages. In the 1st half of the 19th century, it became widely associated with neoclassicism - a current that valued balance, clarity of form, emotional frugality and a sense of humour modelled on the 18th-century Viennese classicism, over the excessive exuberance and overexpression of the late romantic period. An advocate of neoclassicism and a legendary teacher of younger generations of composers, many of whom followed this path, was Nadia Boulanger. Her Paris classroom was a shrine nearly all young Polish composers of the interwar generation considered worthy of a pilgrimage. The most prominent one of those was Grażyna Bacewicz, whose own student, Piotr Moss, followed into her footsteps, also honing his skill in Paris. Those were already the final years of Boulanger’s activity, but meeting her left such a strong mark on the Polish composer’s creative imagination that he has now dedicated his latest piece, Mademoiselle – hommage à Nadia Boulanger, to his professor. This year, the composer, who continuously maintains close ties to the city of Paris, celebrates his 75th birthday and 55 years of artistic activity. His work will be performed alongside one by Boulanger herself.Albert Roussel – the greatest French composer of symphonic works in the first half of the 20th century – did not submit to the influence of neoclassicism entirely, yet he certainly shared the current’s enthusiasts’ passion for clear form, regular themes and prominent rhythms. The ballet Bachus and Ariadne is one of his most magnificent scores. The greatest hit of the concert, however, is going to be Claude Debussy’s 1894 Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun – an earnest of the French separateness of the century to come.Adam SuprynowiczConcert duration (intermission included): approximately 100 minutes

What do the alpine horn and the organ have in common? / Torlontano / Di Lernia

Although the organ is traditionally associated with sacred music and grand concerts, it can also be a fascinating complement to less typical chamber settings. The untypical combinations in this year’s organ concert series provide unique sounds and new, unexpected combinations. The result? We become more open to new interpretational possibilities and free experimenting. True to its "geographical" name, the alpine horn was often used in the Alps as a shepherd's instrument, its sound echoing through mountain valleys, serving both as a means of communication and in folk music. Hence the presence of such pieces as the traditional melody In den Alpen in the programme. This will be completed by the pastoral compositions by Leopold Mozart and Anton Zimmermann, Arcangelo Corelli’s baroque concerto arranged by Francesco Di Lernia, and contemporary compositions by Arvo Pärt and Giovanni D’Aquila. This diverse repertoire will take listeners on a journey across eras and musical styles, towards discoveries of new, surprising sounds. Alexandra KozowiczConcert duration: approximately 80 minutes

Il Giardino Armonico / Antonini / Faust / Music by Antonio Vivaldi

Although today Antonio Vivaldi is best known for the Four Seasons, in the 18th century, the collection L'estro armonico became famous as one of the most influential instrumental pieces of music of the time. Published in 1711, the series of 12 concertos met with great acclaim, and the composer immediately became a significant figure on the international scene. The very accurate title also shows that the composer was aware of the momentous nature of the work. Undoubtedly, we are dealing with Vivaldi's brilliant vision. This is Vivaldi at his best: lively and brilliant, reaching for extended cantilenas, written with a wonderful sense of pure joy of music-making, spontaneity, a sense of mutual fun and ensemble play. When properly interpreted, the relentless and growing energy of these concertos is reminiscent of the morning sun wandering across a room – and this is precisely the kind of interpretation we can expect from Il Giardino Armonico and Isabelle Faust as soloist. Alexandra KozowiczConcert duration (intermission included): approximately 120 minutes

Shakespeare of Music