Thu, 19. 2. 2026, 19.00 hrs

A5 THE JOY OF DANCE

Venue: Zlín Congress Centre  |  Organizer: Filharmonie Bohuslava Martinů, o.p.s.  |  Price: 390,- 330,- 280,-

Music combined with movement is always something unique, producing  a strong positive and emotional experience. This evening's programme, a musical celebration of movement, opens with the orchestral suite from Richard Strauss's comic opera Der Rosenkavalier, whose Dresden premiere in 1911 caused such a sensation that German railways reportedly had to increase train services considerably to enable people from all over Europe to travel there. The intricate love story, set against the backdrop of an aristocracy in decline, draws on the frivolous life of Viennese high society in a reflection of the Maria Theresia Rococo period. Musically, Der Rosenkavalier was heavily inspired by the Viennese waltz, which eventually led to its widespread designation as a "waltz opera".

This is followed by the lively and brilliant Divertimento Concertante for double bass and orchestra, one of the most frequently performed 20th-century concertos for this instrument. Its composer, Giovanni Rota Rinaldi, known under the pseudonym Nino Rota, wrote the piece during his tenure as Dean of the University of Bari in southern Italy. His office was close to that of the university's professor of double bass, Franco Petracchi, and so Rota often heard the sound of his instrument. This virtuoso piece from 1967, considered by many to be the virtual Mount Everest of the double bass repertoire, is performed by Roman Patkoló, one of the world's finest double bassists.

The final work tonight is Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, much of which was written during the composer's stay at the Teplice spa in North Bohemia. Perhaps that is why the symphony is full of the unbridled spirit of Dionysus, vital energy and indomitable optimism. The composer Richard Wagner even described it as "the apotheosis of the dance" because of its unrelenting liveliness. For his part, the great connoisseur and admirer of Beethoven's music Romain Rolland remarked that the piece was the work of a drunken man - but a man intoxicated on the joy of life.