The whole distant world

Three generations of composers, three different musical languages and a fascination with the sound of the orchestra — the programme of the NFM concert of the Wrocław Philharmonic included works by Philippe Manouri, Henri Dutilleux and Béla Bartók, artists for whom the symphonic apparatus was a natural medium of expression. The soloist will be the outstanding French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, appreciated both for his approach to the classical repertoire and for his commitment to the performance of contemporary music. Conducted by Pascal Rophé — one of the most outstanding interpreters of works of the 20th and 21st centuries, who has been cooperating with the Wrocław Philharmonic for years.

The concert will begin with Maelström (Hommage à Boulez') by contemporary French artist Philippe Manouri. This short piece was composed in 2024 by order of the French Radio and was first played on 17 January 2025 at the Paris Philharmonic performed by the Orchestre National de France under the baton of Thomas Guggeis. The event celebrated the centenary of the birth of Pierre Boules — composer and conductor who died in 2016, one of the most important figures in music of the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Completed in 1970, Henri Dutilleux's Tout un monde lointain... is considered one of the most outstanding cello concertos of the twentieth century. This colorful, flickering, dreamlike, and in some places disturbing composition was created for Mstislav Rostropovich, for whom such masters as Benjamin Britten, Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Penderecki or Dmitry Shostakovich also composed. The title of the work — The Whole Distant World... — refers to Charles Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil. The individual links are entitled: Riddle, Look, Waves, Mirrors and Hymn. Each of them is accompanied by a quote from the poetry of the French symbolist, indicating the mood and emotional nature of the music. Among the numerous recordings of the work is also a recording made under the direction of Pascal Rophé.

Béla Bartók's Five-Part Concerto for Orchestra dates back to 1943. It is one of the last, and at the same time the most popular and most frequently performed works of Hungary. Paradoxically, despite the fact that it was created in a difficult period of the creator's life, it amazes with energy, richness of colors and vivacity. It was written on the initiative of the Russian conductor Sergei Kusevitsky, artistic director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This order was to support Bartók after his emigration to the United States — caused by opposition to fascist tendencies in his homeland's politics — when he was struggling with financial and health problems. Thus was born a work in which almost every instrumentalist has the opportunity to present his artistry. In this late composition, the author once again drew on one of the most important sources of his inspiration: the folk music of Central Europe.