Orquestra Insula

The 2007th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's death will be an excellent occasion to celebrate the memory of the Bonn master and to return to his work even more frequently. The French Insula Orchestra, founded in 2012 by acclaimed conductor Laurence Equilbey, will perform two of the composer's groundbreaking works on historical instruments under its baton. The 6th Symphony “Pastoral” will sound expressing love for nature, and in the finale of the event we will hear the canonical Piano Concerto “Imperial”. The solo part will be performed by pianist David Fray.

Ludwig van Beethoven completed the Sixth, his only five-part symphony, in 1808. According to the artist's idea, it was supposed to reflect the feelings associated with being in nature. The track abounds in effects illustrating nature: the rhythm of the strings captures the murmur of a stream, wind instruments imitate the singing of birds, and percussion beats and tremolo effects depict storms. Taking care of the precision of expression, the composer gave literary titles to individual links (from Awakening of serene feelings upon arrival in the countryside to Joyful and grateful feelings after storms). Interestingly, Beethoven initially did not plan them, recognizing that the listeners themselves would guess the meaning of the music. How much he could have been mistaken is shown by the anecdote about George Sand - the writer during the first listening to the work, not knowing the author's intentions, interpreted the singing of birds as the cry of a rebellious angel.

The Sixth Symphony was composed during Beethoven's gigantic creative breakthrough, lasting about six years. The crowning achievement of that time was the 5th Piano Concerto “Imperial”. When preparing this composition, the German already knew that it would be his first work in this genre, in the premiere of which he would not participate as a performer. He was losing his hearing more and more, which prevented him from performing in front of an audience. Beethoven's response to life's upheavals, the music, written in Vienna besieged by Napoleonic troops, radiates nobility and vigor. “I want to grab fate by the throat, it won't bend me at all,” the artist noted at the dawn of the nineteenth century. The compositions that will sound at the NFM performed by the Insula Orchestra are proof that the master managed to turn suffering into a triumph of spirit and art.