The Rijeka Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of its chief conductor Valentin Egel, will perform a concert of musical works that were a turning point in the work of their authors, the composers Ivan pl. Zajc from Croatia, Ludwig van Beethoven from Germany, and Dmitry Shostakovich from Russia. This concert will be performed not only once but twice, on January 9 and 11.
The concert program will open with the overture from Zajc’s “original folk opera in three acts”, Mislav. The lyrical opera Mislav was a turning point in the composer’s work, and later became the first part of the Croatian national historical opera trilogy which also included Ban Leget and Nikola Šubić Zrinjski, an important legacy for Croatian and world music.
The middle portion of the concert presents a turning point in the opus of Ludwig van Beethoven – Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. With this concert, the composer raised the genre to an entirely new level, and its extended duration, virtuosity and expressiveness became the basis for the works of other composers and had a great influence on world classical music. For the first time in our Theatre, the violin will be played by the award-winning virtuoso from Germany, Thomas Goldschmidt.
The concert will conclude with a performance of Dmitry Shostakovich’s First Symphony, with which the composer graduated and thus began his world career, gaining the title of one of the most important composers of the 20th century. With this work, the musician opened the way to the international classical scene, and his gentle and playful symphony continues to be performed on the most famous concert stages under the direction of famous conductors.
General sponsor of the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra
