Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951) played a key role in shaping the theory and history of 20th-century music by creating and promoting the strict dodecaphonic technique, yet it is his youthful Verklärte Nacht from 1899 that remains one of his most famous works. Written as a string sextet, the piece was rearranged by the composer for orchestra over two decades later, and it is this version that is most often heard today. The extremely dense texture and rich chromatic harmony bring to mind the late romantic style of Richard Strauss or Richard Wagner. In the score, one can find the darkness of the night, the obscurity of a hidden secret, the struggle of a painful confession, and the bright ray of forgiveness – inspirations coming from Richard Dehmel’s moving poem of the same title.
The second part of the concert will feature the music of another Viennese composer, yet several generations older – Franz Schubert (1797-1828), whose work is only a preview of the heyday of the Romantic era. He completed his Symphony No. 5 in B flat major in the fall of 1816, showing immaculate craftsmanship shaped by his creative reception of the classical style of Haydn and Mozart. However, his main genre was songs. At the end of one of them, he allegedly wrote that “happiness is where I am not.” Perhaps during the performance of a symphony so full of vigor and light, happiness and Franz will finally meet?
PROGRAM
Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951) – Verklärte Nacht op. 4
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) – Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major D 485
Allegro | Andante con moto | Menuetto. Allegro molto — Trio | Allegro vivace
PERFORMERS
THE ORCHESTRA OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
DAWID RUNTZ CONDUCTOR
Duration: approx. 1h 10 mins
The seats in the auditorium are not numbered.
