The closing concert of the artistic season 2020/2021 in Poznan Philharmonic (held on Friday, the 18th of June at 7 pm, AMU Concert Hall) will be filled with the music from the Romantic period. Marek Pijarowski, the chief conductor of the Poznan Philharmonic, who celebrates this year both the 50th anniversary of his artistic work and his 70th birthday anniversary, would be the man of the hour.
Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 33 by Camille Saint-Saëns is one of the most prominent works of that genre, though it is not performed as often in the philharmonic halls as the cello concertos by Antonín Dvořák, Robert Schumann or Joseph Haydn. Saint-Saëns wrote it in 1872 for an outstanding Belgian cellist Auguste Tolbecque who played the piece for the first time in January 1873 in Paris Conservatoire. The next cello concerto by that composer hasn’t been written until 30 years later – in 1902. Though it was a typical virtuoso concerto, it has never met with the success achieved by the first one, which is attributed to the high level of the performance issues.
The most popular symphonic work by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy is his Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, known as “Italian”. He wrote it at the age of 24 and the music clearly illustrates the echoes of his trip to Italy. It reflects Italian landscapes, culture, the country’s heritage and its inhabitants like a mirror. In the letter to his parents the young composer wrote about the joy that filled his heart, while in the letter to his sister he confided that the Italian symphony would be the most cheerful work he had ever written. This is how the unusually exuberant and energetic musical piece originated.
PERFORMERS:
Tomasz DAROCH – cello
Marek PIJAROWSKI – conductor
Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra
Jakub Kasperski – introduction to the concert
PROGRAM:
- Camille Saint-Saëns, Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 33
- Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Symphony No. 4, Op. 90 “Italian”