Time 19:00
Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb
Tickets available from the organizer on the website of the Zagreb Philharmonic.
I will not play you sad songs, O Shades! but
will give you a triumph proud and fierce…
I will take you to the land of the polar
dawn… and I will stain the sacrificial stones
with blood and reforge you, people – into
demigods…
– this is the fragment from Tadeusz Miciński’s poem Witeź Włast, which opens the original version of the score for Karol Szymanowski’s Concert Overture, constituting its hidden program. The piece was first performed during the Young Poland in Music concert in February of 1906. it is clearly inspired by the late Romantic works of Richard Strauss, and its powerful expression finds an outlet in sweeping themes and a wide range of harmonic solutions.
A completely different style is represented by the music from the ballet which crowns the concert, Harnasie (1923-1931), inspired by Polish highlander folklore. Szymanowski came into contact with the culture of Podhale at an early age, which is reflected in many of his works, yet in no other work of his is this tradition so deeply manifested in an artistically perfect form as in Harnasie. The author himself noted the special dimension of this work, and shortly after its completion, he stated that “for Polish music, it is sensational, like a granite pillar that cannot be knocked down”.
Among the work of Szymanowski, we will also hear the 2nd Violin Concerto by the genius of the violin – Henryk Wieniawski. While the first version of one of the greatest compositions by the Polish virtuoso dates back to 1862, it was repeatedly revised and appeared in its final shape only 17 years later. Today, it still delights with the elegance of the dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra as well as the balance between virtuosity and lyricism, which makes it one of the most prominent Polish compositions of this genre.
PROGRAM
Karol Szymanowski – Concert Overture in E major Op. 12
Henryk Wieniawski – Violin Concerto No.2 in D minor Op. 22
Karol Szymanowski – music from the ballet Harnasie Op. 55
PERFORMERS
TOMASZ KULISIEWICZ SKRZYPCE
SYLWESTER SMULCZYŃSKI TENOR
ZAGREB PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
IVAN GORAN KOVAČIĆ ACADEMIC CHOIR
DAWID RUNTZ CONDUCTOR
