Krzysztof Urbański, Alina Ibragimova

»I’m happy about every listener, regardless whether they are musically trained or not. Concert halls are not museums and everyone can love music. I feel like an entertainer. And people notice that.« Krzysztof Urbański once said this in an interview – and he really is a charming entertainer on the conductor’s podium. No surprise, as the friendly Pole first wanted to be a dancer and then a football player as a kid before discovering his passion for conducting. He has been mixing up the classical music scene with his distinctive style for many years now. He particularly loves his guest performances with us and we are happy that he will be holding the baton again – in an emotionally charged programme that he has meticulously prepared as he always does. He has a strong affection for Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, with which the composer silenced his critics for a short time in 1937 – a typically ambiguous work with which he wanted to portray the »becoming of the personality«, in other words »the individual human being with all his feelings and doubts«. Before that, things are no less turbulent: with Alina Ibragimova as soloist, Sibelius’ brilliant violin concerto is performed. According to the composer’s wife, he was »on fire the whole time« during its composition. And you can hear this in the piece with its majestic melodies and sparkling action – including in the finale, which a critic humorously called a »polonaise for polar bears«, while Sibelius described it as a »danse macabre«. A programme that is perfectly suited to the temperament of Krzysztof Urbański, who once said: »I simply can’t do anything about this energy that slumbers inside of me. I just do what I feel.«