»What makes this orchestra so special is its very, very warm sound. I am fascinated by the tenderness with which the musicians play,« says María Dueñas of the Bamberg Symphony, with whom the young violin star has already appeared on numerous occasions. For their guest performance at the Elbphilharmonie, they present Sergei Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto, a sparkling and fiery work from the composer’s youth.
The concerto is framed by two symphonies. Chief conductor Jakub Hrůša opens the programme with the »Fantaisies symphoniques«, the Sixth Symphony by his Czech compatriot Bohuslav Martinů. Here, Martinů set out to compose with complete freedom, unconstrained by the traditional formal requirements of the symphony: »But something holds it together. I do not know what it is, but it has a line, and I have expressed something in it,« the composer remarked of the work. Whatever that unifying force may be, the music brims with imagination and constantly unfolding ideas.
Beethoven, too, playfully toys with musical conventions in his Symphony No. 8. The very first movement bears the marking »scherzando«. What follows is a ticking – and occasionally stumbling – clockwork mechanism, before the work concludes with a finale of almost unplayable speed. A sense of fun is most definitely encouraged.
PERFORMERS
Bamberger Symphoniker orchestra
María Dueñas violin
Jakub Hrůša conductor
PROGRAM
Bohuslav Martinů
Symphony No. 6, H 343 »Fantaisies symphoniques«
- Interval -
Sergej Prokofjew
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 in D major, Op. 19
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
