Lalo/Bizet

Symphonic Concert

Performers:

Elvin Ganiyev — violin

Nestor Bayona — conductor

Warmia and Mazury Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra

Witold Paprocki — a word about music

Programa:

Édouard Lalo — Spanish Symphony in D minor, Op.21

Georges Bizet — Symphony in C major

Music (and other fields of art) delight us with crossing all kinds of boundaries. Here is an example: we consider a symphony a four-part work intended for a symphony orchestra? Great. Then let's add one more part and a solo violin part to it! Here is a hypothesis regarding the creation of the Spanish Symphony by the French composer Édouard Lalo. Her nickname, although given by the composer, undoubtedly reveals the source of inspiration, but the Symphony is definitely more than a bundle of stamped references to flamenco, zarzuela or other musical topos associated with Spain. Rather, it is a musical story in which, yes, the cultural echoes of this country are echoed — such as the stylization of the habanera in the third part — but the narrative has no non-musical references: it consists much more of a daring solo part and its nevertheless colorful companion in the form of a symphony orchestra. The bright, luminous key in D major underlines the joyful nature of the Symphony — and perhaps — will bring some Spanish sunshine on this October evening...

The evening will end with Symphony No. 1 in C major by Georges Bizet — a composer working at the same time as Lalo. Before he established his name in the firmament of the classical repertoire with the opera Carmen, he wrote quite a considerable amount of music absolutely worth knowing. The symphony, which will be performed by the Olsztyn Philharmonics, came from the pen of 17-year-old Georges, a student of Charles Gounod's composition class at the Paris Conservatory. Moreover, it was a student assignment summarizing his 9 years of education. Perhaps that is why Bizet, after finishing the Symphony, never mentioned it, did not pursue its performance or its release*. Notabene, it took place 80 years after graduation, long after the composer's death in 1935 thanks to the efforts of the Conservatory community. It was immediately recognized as a masterpiece and quickly became part of the repertoire of many prestigious orchestras**. It is true that there are references to the music of the master of the young composer, but a clear feature of the individual style of the creator is present. According to the researchers, this work “reveals the remarkable talent of the 17-year-old student in terms of melodic invention, operation of themes and orchestration” *, but if you look at the Symphony a little more spontaneously, you will hear the youthful vigor, joy and playfulness that will put you in a great mood!

Agnieszka Teodora Zabińska

*Howard Shanet, Bizet Supressed Symphony [in:] The Musical Quarterly, Volume XLIV, Oxford University Press, 1958, pp. 461—476, https://academic.oup.com/mq/article-abstract/XLIV/4/461/1009476?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false (accessed 11.09.2026).

**John W. Klein, Douglas Charles Parker, John F. Russell, Bizet's Symphony” (Correspondence)” [in:] The Musical Times, vol. 77 (1116) Great Britain, 1936.

*** orig. “(...) reveals an extraordinarily accomplished talent for a 17-year-old student, in melodic invention, thematic handling and orchestration”, trans. Hugh Macdonald, password: Bizet, Georges [in:] Grove Music Online, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051829 (accessed 11/09/2026).

Elvin Hoxha Ganiyev, born in 1997 in a family of musicians, at the age of ten was accepted into the program for young talents at the Zurich Conservatory. He was educated under Zakhar Bron at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. He obtained his master's degree at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover in the class of Krzysztof Węgrzyn. In parallel, he graduated from the Konzertexamen at the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen and obtained a second master's degree in solo studies at the UdK in Berlin with Marek Gothoni. He is a laureate of the Karol Szymanowski International Violin Competition in Katowice, the iPalPiti award at the George Enescu International Violin Competition (2021), the Jascha Heifetz Competition and the Berlin International Music Competition.

His debut album with the set of Six Sonatas for Solo Violin by Eugène Ysaÿe was released in January 2025 and received a nomination for the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) 2026. The second album, featuring two Mendelssohn violin concertos recorded with Howard Griffiths and the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, was released in February 2026 This year was released by Solo Musica. The album was enthusiastically received by critics — it was awarded “A bold virtuoso” by Fono Forum magazine and the title of Album of the Day in Radio Klassik Vienna, as well as discussed in Pizzicato, Online Merker, Radio Bremen Klassikwelt and En Pistes in France Musique. Special interest was aroused by the rarely performed Concerto in D minor, which is the pillar of the album next to the popular Concerto in E minor. Elvin performed it with the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra at the Orchesterzentrum NRW in Dortmund in October 2024 during his final concert as part of the Konzertexamen.

In recent seasons, the artist has given a sold-out recital at the Royal Opera House in Muscat and has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as NOSPR (1st Violin Concerto by Szymanowski), Sinfonia Varsovia (Mendelssohn), Zielona Góra Philharmonic (Concerto Gregoriano Respighi), Thailand Philharmonic and Bogotá Philharmonic (Sibelius) or Johannesburg Philharmonic (Dvorak). He also performs regularly with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra and the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra. His repertoire includes both the core of violin literature—works by Brahms, Sibelius, Mendelssohn, and Tchaikovski—as well as lesser-performed compositions, including Respighi's piece and Fazıl Say's 1001 Nights in the Harem.

He plays the violin of Giuseppe Guarneri's “filius Andreae” from 1715 and uses Eugène Sartory's string.

Néstor Bayona is a Spanish conductor and was appointed Mackerras Fellow at the English National Opera for the seasons 2026—2028. In 2023 he served as resident conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra of Polish Radio (NOSPR), having previously worked as assistant conductor of this orchestra in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.

During his career of more than ten years, Néstor Bayona has won the recognition of international orchestras and opera houses. Highlights of recent and upcoming seasons include symphony concerts with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, the Spanish premiere of Maurice Ravel's recently found opera Sémiramis at the Palau de la Música Catalana, performances with the Krakow Philharmonic, the Sudeck Philharmonic, the Szczecin Philharmonic and the Warmian-Masurian Philharmonic in Olsztya They also made their debuts at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo and Teatr Wielki — the National Opera in Warsaw.

Among his operatic works there are also: Romeo and Juliet Gounod at the Silesian Opera, Peasant's Chivalry/Pajace at the Hungarian State Opera in Cluj-Napoca, assisting Marin Alsop in the realization of Krzysztof Penderecki's opera Die schwarze Maske at NOSPR and cooperation with Lawrence Foster on the productions of Pelléas et Mélisande deBusy Lulu Berg and Lulu Berg at the Enescu Festival. Previously, Néstor Bayona was an assistant at the Opéra de Marseille in the 2018/19 and 2021/22 seasons, and also collaborated on productions at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Komische Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt and with the Pentatone label on the recording of the opera La fanciulla del West.

As a symphonic conductor, he has performed with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Radio Televisión Española, the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, the Oviedo Filarmonía, the Orquesta de Extremadura, the Transylvanian Philharmonic, the Târgu Mureș Philharmonic, the Bochumer Symphoniker and the Krakow Philharmonic.

Néstor Bayona studied piano and conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he received the Gold Medal, then at the Haute École de Musique de Genève, and later completed postgraduate studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin. In 2021 he was awarded the title of Associate of the Royal Northern College of Music (ARNCM) for his professional achievements, and in 2015 he was honored with the International Ciutat de Lleida Award for his contribution to the cultural life of his hometown of Lleida.

He is currently the Artistic Director of the Ricardo Viñes International Piano Competition and Festival in Lleida.

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