Thu, 17. 10. 2019, 7.00 p.m.

A1 SCENTS FROM THE SOUTH

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

The opening concert of this subscription series offers a varied programme bringing together the whimsicality of France, the exuberance of Brazil, the pleasing melodiousness of Italy, the resplendence of Russia and honest Czech artistry.

The ballet Le Boeuf sur le Toit, one of Darius Milhaud's most popular works, would surely never have been written if the composer had not spent more than a year living in Brazil, where he was entranced by the atmosphere of the legendary Rio carnival, in particular the ubiquitous street fusion of energetic melodies and multifarious rhythms. It is these unmistakeable Brazilian hallmarks that stamp their character on the whole piece.

Bohuslav Martinů's Oboe Concerto, in contrast, brings with it the scent of Provencal lavender redolent of the time the composer spent in Nice, where it was written at the request of the young Czech-Australian oboist Jiří Tancibudek. The work was quickly adopted into the repertoire of all the leading oboists, and Vilém Veverka is no exception.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien, as its title suggests, draws us into the music of the Apennine peninsula. The work took its inspiration in a trip the composer took to Rome in 1880 where he got a taste of authentic Italian folk music, so it is no surprise that the piece also incorporates tunes that he picked up from the streets. Another scent - this time the imaginary whiff of gunpowder - permeates Tchaikovsky's final festive monumental symphonic work which has come to be known as the 1812 Festival Overture - a spectacular musical celebration of the victory of tsarist Russia over the forces of Napoleon.
Tonight's concert features the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic's Principal Guest Conductor Leoš Švarovský.