Symphonic concert: McCreesh | Stone

The Walk to the Paradise Garden by Frederick Delius is a moving orchestral intermezzo from Act III of the opera A Village Romeo and Juliet, based on a short story by Gottfried Keller. Delius portrays the tragic fate of two young people caught up in a devastating family conflict. The eponymous “garden of paradise” becomes not only a place, but a space of emotional liberation and a last refuge from violent reality. The composer abandons traditional contrasts and theatrical climaxes, focusing on the mesmerizing atmosphere, the fluidity of harmony and the subtle play of orchestral colors. The motifs intersect almost imperceptibly, blurring the boundaries between the sections of the orchestra. The beauty of this music, however, has a deeply melancholic undertone from the beginning — sensual serenity is underpinned by a painful awareness of transience.

Completed at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto III in C minor occupies a groundbreaking place in his work. While retaining the classical discipline of form, the choice of key in C minor — associated in Beethoven with drama, struggle and heroism — foreshadows the arrival of romanticism. The piano here becomes an equal partner of a powerful orchestra. After a tense introduction, the piano takes over and processes her motifs with extraordinary energy. Largo brings an almost metaphysical stillness: meditative silence and long, sonorous phrases in an illuminated key in E major. The contemplation is abruptly interrupted by the final Rondo, restoring the stormy energy and dance rhythm.

The 6th Symphony in B minor Op. 74 by Piotr Tchaikovsky is his last symphony and one of the composer's most poignant works. The premiere took place in St. Petersburg at the end of October 1893, just nine days before his death. The subtitle “Pathetic” proposed by the composer's brother, Modesta, aptly captures the heat and emotional tension of the piece. Tchaikovsky breaks the classic expectations: instead of the traditional free link, there is a waltz in an unusual 5/4 meter, followed by a powerful, marching Scherzo. However, the symphony is not crowned with triumph. The finale — Adagio lamentoso — is a fading music, full of despair and resignation, which instead of victory, inevitably tends towards silence.

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At 18:00, before the concert, we invite you to a meeting from the series “Like Classics — Conversations about Music” in the upper foyer of the Lublin Philharmonic. During them we present the program of the evening, the silhouettes of the composers, the circumstances of the creation of the performed works and the contexts that help to live the concert more fully.

This is a meeting for everyone — both experienced music lovers and people who are just discovering classical music.