Thu, 4. 3. 2021, 7.00 p.m.

B5 WIND IN THE LIMELIGHT

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

Our Subscription Series B concert in March offers an interesting programme beginning with Bohuslav Martinů's Thunderbolt P-47, a small-scale orchestral scherzo written in 1945 on a commission from Johannes Kindler, the American National Symphony Orchestra director at the time. The piece was written to honour the American fighter plane of the same name which criss-crossed the skies of Europe during the Second World War, playing an important role in in bringing about the fall of the Nazi empire.

This is followed by the Sinfonia Concertante for Wind, another piece from the successful pen of Aleš Pavlorek, a member of the Zlín Philharmonic. Written in 2010, this fascinating work celebrates the exceptional musical legacy of the great 20th-century symphony composer Dmitry Shostakovich, and the challenges it poses will certainly showcase the orchestra's performance skills.

Dmitry Shostakovich wrote his first symphony in 1924–25 as his graduation piece from the Petrograd Conservatoire, and the work quickly propelled him to the attention of the critics, to the extent that the date of its premiere, 12th May 1926, was said to be etched in the composer's memory for the rest of his life.

The concert is conducted by Robert Kružík, whose current activities include the post of Permanent Conductor at the Brno National Theatre's Janáček Opera House.