BEETHOVEN, BRUCH, TCHAIKOVSKY

The concert will open with the Coriolan Overture by Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the greatest artists in human history, who brought the spirit of a new era in his music, liberating it for the first time in the history of social conditioning and expressing in it the principle of art as an expression of personality. He wrote his overture about the famous Roman military leader Coriolanus in 1807 for the tragedy of the same name by Heinrich Joseph von Collins. His music brilliantly portrays the often turbulent dramatic action full of contrasting emotions, fully reflecting the course of this tragedy.

This is followed by Max Bruch and his famous First Violin Concerto, for which the longtime Rijeka concertmaster Anton Kyrylov will perform and present himself for the first time as a soloist alongside the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra. Max Bruch, a composer of German Romanticism, wrote more than 200 compositions in his prolific oeuvre, including three violin concertos, of which the First Violin Concerto in G Minor has become the backbone and an indispensable part of every violin repertoire. The concert was composed in 1866. Since its first appearance on concert stages, it has become one of the most popular romantic violin concerts among listeners and performers alike.

The concert will magnificently conclude with the Fourth Symphony by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the most popular Russian composer and the most expressive representative of Slavik romance. This composer’s material independence while still working as a professor was made possible by his patron, the rich widow Nadezhda von Meck, and their correspondence is an important source of information about Tchaikovsky’s creative work and aesthetic views. She went on to help him financially and morally for years, encouraging him to compose great works. Thanks to that help, Tchaikovsky managed to free himself from his painstaking services and devote himself to composing in peace. The relationship that made it possible for him is a touching and inimitable story of two people who, at the explicit request of Mrs. Meck, never met. Tchaikovsky repaid her in the most beautiful way by dedicating his Fourth Symphony to her, composed in 1877. At the time it was esteemed as his first truly completely symphonic work.

Program

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827): Coriolan Overture

Max Bruch (1838 – 1920): Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra in G Minor, Op. 26
1. Vorspiel: Allegro moderato
2. Adagio
3. Finale: Allegro energico

***Intermission***

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893): Fourth Symphony in F Minor, Op. 36

1. Andante sostenuto – Moderato con anima
2. Andantino in modo di canzone
3. Scherzo. Pizzicato ostinato. Allegro
4. Finale. Allegro con fuoco

The concert lasts approximately two hours with one intermission.

General sponsor of the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra