Beethoven — Sixth Symphony | Chachaturian — Gajane | Iradyan | Symphony Orchestra

Performers: Aleksandr Iradyan — conductor

Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra

Program: Ludwig van Beethoven — Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op.68 Pastoral

Aram Khachaturian — suite from the ballet Gajane

Ludwig van Beethoven's Sixth Pastoral Symphony has forever changed the way we think about the programmatic symphony. The composer created a work inspired by nature, but, as he himself emphasized, it was not to be a “sound painting”, but an expression of emotions and sensations accompanying man in contact with nature. Similarly, Aram Khachaturian's Gajane ballet, with the famous Dance with Sabres, grows out of a fascination with nature and human life, although it tells about them in a completely different musical language — full of rhythm, dance energy and colors inspired by Caucasian folklore.

The concert will be conducted by Aleksandr Iradyan — Armenian conductor, composer and pianist who, as a laureate of the International Aram Khachaturian Competition, will be an excellent interpreter of the suite from the Gajane ballet during this evening. The artist has collaborated, among others, with Maxim Vengerov and Mischa Maysky, conducting orchestras in many European countries.

Beethoven worked on the Sixth Symphony in parallel with the monumental Fifth Symphony, and both works sounded for the first time at a historic concert in Vienna in 1808. Pastoral, however, turned out to be a completely unique piece — instead of a dramatic struggle, the composer created music focused on the inner experiences of man and his relationship with nature. Beethoven himself noted in the score that it is “more an expression of feelings than sound painting”, emphasizing that the main thing remains emotions, not the illustrative reproduction of the sounds of nature.

In the next parts of the symphony we hear the arrival in the countryside, the stage by the stream, the dancing fun of the villagers, the violent storm and the final thanksgiving song after the storm. Beethoven uses the characteristic motifs of nature — the singing of birds, folk rhythms or the evocative sounds of the orchestra — but all these images become, above all, a reflection of human emotions: peace, joy, anxiety and solace. Of particular importance is the final of the symphony, which for the first time in Beethoven's work takes the form of a great hymn of gratitude and inner reconciliation.

The second part of the program will be completed by a suite from the ballet Gajane Aram Khachaturian — a composer famous for his extraordinary sense of rhythm, colorful orchestration and inspiration from the music of the Caucasus. The ballet tells the story of a young Armenian woman living in a collective farm, but its greatest popularity was brought by concert fragments full of dance energy and oriental expression. The most famous of them is, of course, Dance with Sabres — a piece that, thanks to its rhythmic vibrancy and impressive sound, has become one of the most recognizable hits of 20th century music.

CONCERT INFORMANT