KURPIŃSKI – BACEWICZ – BEETHOVEN / SYMPHONIC CONCERT

How diverse can be the ways in which musical folklore can inspire composers! The extended overture to Karol Kurpiński’s one-act comical opera entitled Dwie Chatki (Two Cottages) begins with a cheerful oboe introduction. Only after that does the conventional – in terms of form – Sonata-Allegro begin, with a spontaneous and spirited first theme and a  delightfully lyrical second theme. In the melodic line and the warm sound of the wind instruments, one can find references to the idyllic rural landscape. Polish folklore has an entirely different sound in Grażyna Bacewicz’s Violin Concerto No. 3. The clear inspiration drawn from Podhale music is clearly visible in the instrumentation technique, the characteristic melodic phrases and – quoted directly – the opening motif of the second movement, taken from “a little-known, yet very beautiful song”. The third movement of the concerto is a spirited oberek, whose swirling character perfectly reflects the temperament of the Polish highlands.

„Anyone who has the faintest idea of rural life will have no need of descriptive titles to enable him to imagine for himself what the composer intends. Even without a description one will be able to recognize it all, especially that it is more an expression of feeling than a painting” – wrote Ludwig van Beethoven in 1807 in a note regarding the 6th Symphony in F -major op. 68. Ultimately, each of the five movements of the Pastoral Symphony, completed in 1808, was given a descriptive programmatic title. However, it is not about a simple musical illustration of idyllic scenes, but about a return to nature and the expression of feelings evoked by the uniqueness of the world around us. Perhaps it is in this universal thought that captures the expressive power of this extraordinary composition by the last of the three Viennese masters.

PROGRAM

Karol Kurpiński (1785-1857) – Ouverture to the opera Dwie chatki 

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) – Violin Concerto No. 3

1. Allegro molto moderato
2. Andante
3. Vivo

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) – Symphony No. 6 in F-major op. 68 Pastorale

1. Allegro ma non troppo. Awakening of Happy Feelings on Arriving in the Country (Erwachen heiterer Gefühle bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande). 
2. Andante molto mosso. Scene by a Brook (Szene am Bach). 
3. Allegro. Joyful Gathering of the Country Folk (Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute). 
4. Allegro. Thunder, Storm (Gewitter und Sturm). 
5. Allegretto. Shepherds’ Song: Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm (Hirtengesänge – Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm).

PERFORMERS

JANUSZ WAWROWSKI VIOLIN

THE ORCHESTRA OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA

MARTA GARDOLIŃSKA CONDUCTOR

Duration: approx. 1 h 15 min