Christian Tetzlaff & Esa-Pekka Salonen perform Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No 1
with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall

By -

Christian Tetzlaff (pictured) joins Esa-Pekka Salonen and the New York Philharmonic in a performance of Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No 1 at Avery Fisher Hall May 14th. While much of the world was at war during the composition of Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, the sounds therein give no indication of such turmoil. Equally at home in repertoire from Bach to the Romantics, and renowned for his interpretations of new music, Christian Tetzlaff has been aptly described as "brilliant and inquisitive" by The New York Times. The concert is comprised of 20th century music from Northern Europe featuring pieces by Witold Lutosławski (Poland), Karol Szymanowski (Poland) & Jean Sibelius (Finland).

Lutosławski had taken folk material and, by transforming it into magnificent symphonic sonorities, had placed his personal stamp on it. The Concerto for Orchestra is cast in three movements: the Intrada is constructed in an “arch” form with massive climaxes at the midway point; the Capriccio notturno e Arioso, where strings and winds form bookends around a slower section for the brasses; and the vast finale that unifies the first two movements. It begins with an 8-measure passacaglia on a folk theme that is repeated more than a dozen times, always building in intensity, and concludes with a Toccata and Chorale. Listen for a reference to a fellow-sufferer under the Socialist regime, as Lutoslawski embeds Shostakovich’s signature monogram, DSCH (notated in music as D, E-flat, C, B-natural) in the Toccata. The coda provides a powerful and dramatic conclusion to this 20th century masterpiece, which has become Lutoslawski’s most admired and most popular work.

Jean Sibelius revised his Fifth Symphony several times over the course of four years. Despite struggles with health, alcoholism, finances, and political turmoil, Sibelius created this masterpiece—one of the great late-Romantic symphonies—that strongly resonates with audiences. He once described his approach to composing like this: “It is as if the Almighty had thrown down the pieces of a mosaic from the floor of Heaven and told me to put them together.” It begins somewhat mysteriously with an arching theme from the horns, underscored by timpani rolls; in the middle movement listen for a simple theme that highlights pizzicato playing from the strings. The ending of the Fifth is surely one of the most glorious, most affirmative expressions in all of Sibelius works. The final moments are astonishing: after the exultant washes of sound comes a moment of utter silence followed by six hammered chords, each separated from the next by what seem stunning silences, till the final one brings resolution.

“In a deep valley again. But I begin already dimly to see the mountain that I shall certainly ascend. God opens his door for a moment and his orchestra plays the Fifth Symphony.” - Jean Sibelius

Esa-Pekka Salonen is renowned for his interpretations of contemporary music, and has given countless premieres of new works. He has led critically acclaimed festivals of music by Berlioz, Ligeti, Schoenberg, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and Magnus Lindberg — who will become the New York Philharmonic’s Composer-in-Residence beginning in September 2009. Mr. Salonen’s major awards include the Siena Prize by the Accademia Chigiana in 1993, the first conductor ever to receive it; the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Opera Award in 1996, and the Society’s Conductor Award in 1997. In 1998 he was awarded the rank of Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. In May 2003 he received an honorary doctorate from the Sibelius Academy in Finland and in 2005 the Helsinki Medal. Musical America named him its Musician of the Year 2006.

Mr. Salonen is also a composer whose works have been performed worldwide. The New York Philharmonic commissioned and gave the World Premiere of his Piano Concerto in February 2007, performed by Emanuel Ax and conducted by Mr. Salonen at his last appearances with the New York Philharmonic.

Violinist Christian Tetzlaff is known for performances and recordings of a broad spectrum of the repertoire, ranging from Bach’s unaccompanied sonatas and partitas to 19th-century masterworks by Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and Brahms, and from 20thcentury concertos by Bartók, Berg, and Shostakovich to world premieres of contemporary works. He has appeared with the orchestras of New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Toronto, among many others, and with major European ensembles including the Berlin, Vienna, and Rotterdam philharmonic orchestras, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw. He also collaborates frequently with distinguished artists in chamber music performances and is the founder of the Tetzlaff Quartet.

Tickets range from $30 to $109 and are available online at: nyphil.org

Concert Information
Thursday, May 14, 7:30pm
Sat, May. 16, 8:00pm

Lutoslawski Concerto for Orchestra
Szymanowski Violin Concerto No. 1
Sibelius Symphony No. 5

Esa-Pekka Salonen Conductor
Christian Tetzlaff Violin

Pre-concert talks are an hour prior to each performance

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In &quo
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

The Art of String Quartets by Brian Ferneyhough

By -
Image
When an artist sets paint to canvas, there are brush strokes used for different effects. Sometimes those strokes are subtle, imperceptible; they produce works of art like the Mona Lisa . Other times the very obvious nature of the stroke is the art, as in works by Van Gogh. With some composers of music, the notes on the page are their craft. How those notes translate into an aural experience is what defines some composers as great artists. Brian Ferneyhough has a masterful command of the techniques of putting notes on the page. These techniques are sometimes so subtle, even though written in black and white, they escape detection. Some of what he attempts with his music is just that, to escape detection, to bury the framework, diverting the ear away from the structure, so only the music is heard . The subtlety is so fine it is almost imperceptible. Even though he studied at several institutions, he is considered self-taught, studying scores from Boule
Read more