Thu, 3. 12. 2015, 7:00 p.m.

A3 MUSIC OF THREE CENTURIES

Venue: Zlín Congress Centre  |  Organizer: Filharmonie Bohuslava Martinů, o.p.s.  | 

Adam Skoumal's violin concerto was commissioned by last year's Prague Spring international music festival and premiered by Roman Patočka. Its initial inspiration came from the American violinist Shlomo Mintz, who had previously played several of Skoumal's pieces. The work is a conventional tonal three-movement concerto with a slow second movement, but not without its moments of exoticism. Roman Patočka, one of the best Czech violin virtuosi, has won a number of awards at competitions including the Prague Spring, the Leopold Mozart in Augsburg, the Pablo de Sarasate in Pamplona, and the Václav Huml competition in Zagreb, to name but a few. In addition to his solo engagements, he is currently a member of the Eben Trio and other chamber groups.

Genoveva, the only opera by the German composer Robert Schumann, had its premiere in 1850 and is based on the mediaeval legend dating back to the 8th Century of Genevieve of Brabant. Tonight we will hear its remarkable overture.

Dmitry Shostakovich originally intended to write his Sixth Symphony in homage to Lenin, but in the event abandoned that idea completely in favour of something different from his previous symphony, resulting in a joyful work redolent of spring and youth. Its successful premiere with the Leningrad Philharmonic was conducted by Yevgeny Mravinsky, but the critics - despite acknowledging its departure in certain respects from "dangerous" formalism - had their reservations about the symphony's unusual structure. It begins with a lengthy, slow introspective movement followed by two short movements (the scherzo and a full-blooded gallop with shades of music hall, which the composer considered highly successful).

Wielding the baton in tonight's concert is Stanislav Vavřínek, one of the best contemporary Czech conductors.