Time 19:00
Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio in Warsaw, Modzelewskiego 59
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“My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us, the world is full of it and you simply take as much as you require” – maintained Edward Elgar. The brilliant self-taught musician knew how to draw on this infinity of sounds in a truly fascinating way. His music teems with allusions and connections, as exemplified by the Enigma Variations, Op. 36. Each of the fourteen orchestral miniatures contains a portrait of a person important to the composer from among his family or friends. Variation IX is dedicated to August Jaeger. When the composer was losing faith in his abilities, his friend is said to have held up Beethoven’s steadfastness as an example, while humming the second theme from the Viennese master’s Sonata Pathétique. A discerning ear will certainly detect an allusion to this very melody in the opening bars of Nimrod.
This is also how we are introduced to the second protagonist of the concert – Ludwig van Beethoven. His only surviving violin concerto, first performed in Vienna in December 1806, initially failed to arouse the enthusiasm of the audience. Today, however, it belongs to the very core of violin repertoire – valued for the perfect balance between the complementary parts of the orchestra and the solo instrument, in which – as Stanisław Haraschin observes – “all virtuosity […] serves exclusively the poetic and musical idea.” Joining the orchestra as soloist will be Roman Simović – an outstanding violinist who masterfully combines technical perfection with innate musicality and an impressive tonal imagination. This multi-award-winning virtuoso, who serves as concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, performs on a 1709 Antonio Stradivari violin generously loaned to him by Jonathan Moulds.
The second half of the evening will be devoted to Andrzej Panufnik’s Polonia for orchestra, composed in 1959. The work, directly inspired by Edward Elgar’s composition of the same title, may be regarded as a sort of complement to it. While the English composer drew on quotations from Polish patriotic songs and works by Chopin and Paderewski, Panufnik took as his point of departure Poland’s native folk tradition, full of vigor and unique in its diversity. The Highlanders’ March perfectly captures the character of the Podhale region, the slow movements are filled with emotion and nostalgia, the Krakowiak sparkles with wit, while the final Oberek sweeps the listener along with its unbridled vitality.
Marta Dziewanowska-Pachowska
PROGRAM
Edward Elgar (1857–1934) – Variations Enigma, Op. 36
Variation IX (Adagio) Nimrod
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) – Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Larghetto
III. Rondo (Allegro)
— intermission —
Andrzej Panufnik (1914–1991) – Polonia, suite for orchestra (1959)
1. Marsz góralski
2. Mazurek
3. Krakowiak
4. Pieśń Nadwiślańska
5. Oberek
PERFORMERS
ROMAN SIMOVIĆ VIOLIN
THE ORCHESTRA OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
DAWID RUNTZ CONDUCTOR
Duration: approx. 1 h 30 mins (with an intermission)
