Johann Sebastian Bach as a ground-breaking composer and the composers who were inspired by his work are the subject of the concert Schnittke 90 & Bach, to be played by the Brno Philharmonic on Thursday and Friday, opening another subscription series. The concerts will be conducted by Robert Kružík at the Besední dům.
"The opening concert will commemorate what would have been the ninetieth birthday of Alfred Schnittke, one of the flagship composers of our orchestra. His work is heard in every season and at our festivals," said Marie Kučerová, Director of the Brno Philharmonic. The concerts will take place on Thursday, 21 and Friday, 22 November 2024 at the Besední dům.
The first half of the evening will be devoted to Bach's legacy. "Bach is the first great composer who, through the immense power of his work, made the public take note of his music, even though it belonged to the past. An unprecedented event, because until the nineteenth century, people listened almost exclusively to the music of their own time," writes Milan Kundera in his book of essays entitled On Music and the Novel. Bach's work has inspired many composers so much that they have sought to include his organ, vocal and chamber works in the repertoire of symphonic ensembles. This has resulted in the series of transcriptions and orchestral arrangements that will open the concert. The Three Chorales and the Violin Sonata in E minor will be performed in an arrangement by Ottorino Respighi, and the Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her" will be performed in an arrangement by Igor Stravinsky. "We will hear the exposed wind instruments so typical of Stravinsky. Other than those, he only used harp, violas and double basses," said Vítězslav Mikeš, dramaturg of the Brno Philharmonic.
Bach also inspired Schnittke. "The unattainable ideal that stands at the centre of everything. The centre, the sun that shines on all sides, whatever I do," the latter said of him. The orchestra will commemorate Schnittke's jubilee, which falls on Sunday, 24 November, with his Symphony No.4. "It is a profound work with a spiritual theme and a powerful and effective polyphony. It has no parallel in symphonic literature anywhere else in the world. It is inspired by the Rosary, a prayer in which the faithful, together with Mary, contemplate the so-called mystery, meaning the important events in Jesus' life," said Mikeš, describing the work.
The motifs are based on melodic patterns characteristic of Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish music. The work is dominated by the piano as a guide to the "temple of all churches"; the sense of sacred space is evoked by the ubiquitous bells and the choir, which joins in at the end with the Latin text of the prayer. "Someone once compared listening to this symphony to taking a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. It’s an apt simile that can serve as a guide. Let's forget the classical symphonic canon and focus more on the message, which tells us we can be different if we want to and if we strive for it," added Mikeš.
The concerts will be conducted by Robert Kružík, the solo part in the Violin Sonata in E minor will be performed by the deputy concertmaster Martin Pavlík, and the orchestra will be accompanied by the Gaudeamus Choir led by Daša Karasová. Both nights are sold out; standing room only tickets now available.
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