ConcertPulse
Where
The premiere of a new work by Unsuk Chin unfortunately had to be postponed. Instead, we will open the concert with the Adagio for string orchestra by Periklis Koukos. At the end, we will hear »Five Greek dances for string orchestra« by Nikos Skalkottas, replacing his »Four Images« which were originally planned. There is hardly a work that is considered to be so closely connected to the composer’s life as Robert Schumann’s »Rhenish.« This symphony (his third, though chronologically his fourth and last) is euphoric, radiant, energetic, and jubilant. Schumann has packed up all his belongings and moved from Saxony to the cheerful Rhineland. As the new local music director of Düsseldorf, he is welcomed with a special serenade. The new job gives him hope, and the view of the tall cathedral in the neighbouring town of Cologne, a bit further south, is simply overwhelming! Schumann experiences a creative frenzy and composes five symphonic movements full of emphatic joie de vivre, sometimes with an optimistic drive, sometimes carried by smooth waves. Not a single phrase indicates the suicidal thoughts of the same Schumann, three years after the premiere, when he tried to take his life by jumping into the ice-cold Rhine.