The Rijeka Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Chief Conductor Valentin Egel, dedicates the performance of the concert “Mozart, Strauss: Longing for Eternity” on April 1 and 2 to recently deceased Maestro Miroslav Homen, the long-time conductor of the orchestra of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc.
“The concert program will open with Mozart’s First Symphony, and will close with his final Jupiter Symphony. Both symphonies feature the same four-note motif; did Mozart know that his Jupiter Symphony would be his last? Is this a man looking back to childhood at the end of his life? Looking back, Mozart seems to have turned his cycle of symphonies into a circle – a symbol of eternity,”concluces Maestro Valentin Egel.
The Jupiter Symphony had a great influence on the work of Richard Strauss, whose works will be performed in the central portion of the concert. The Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra, one of the composer’s last works, is rightly considered to be the most beautiful concerto of the 20th century for this instrument. The soloist on the oboe will be a member of our Orchestra, Antonio Halller. Strauss’ masterpiece of polyphony, Metamorphosis for 23 solo strings, is a farewell to the world, but with an atmosphere of consolation and catharsis. Strauss’s works are “a glow of instrumentation and harmony, always respecting tradition, yet at the same time opening new doors,” emphasizes Valentin Egel.
Tickets for both concert performances are on sale now. Listen to “Longing for Eternity” and remember with us the conductor of “impressive gestures and a warm heart,” Miroslav Homen.
