Rossini — Paganini — Schumann | Lutz | Foster | Symphony Orchestra

Performers: Bohdan Lutz — violin

Lawrence Foster — conductor

Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra

Program: Gioacchino Rossini — Overture to the opera Wilhelm Tell

Niccolo Paganini — Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 6

Robert Schumann — Symphony No. 1 in B major, Op.38 Spring

Gioacchino Rossini's famous overture to Wilhelm Tell, Niccolo Paganini's dazzling technical bravado First Violin Concerto, and Robert Schumann's “Spring” Symphony, full of light, will be played during a concert by two internationally renowned artists — on the one hand, legendary baton master Lawrence Foster, who has collaborated for decades with the most important orchestras of the world, on the other — Bohdan Lutz, winner of the most prestigious violin competitions.

Ukrainian violinist Bohdan Lutz, aged just 17, won the 1st prize of the Carl Nielsen International Competition in Denmark and the 1st Prize and Audience Award of the Alberto Lysy International Violin Competition in Gstaad. A year later he also won the famous Long-Thibaud International Violin Competition in Paris, receiving in addition the Audience Award, the Press Jury Prize and the Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine award.

The Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by the outstanding American conductor Lawrence Foster, who has collaborated for decades with the most important orchestras and opera houses in Europe, the United States and Asia. The artist was, among others, musical director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, the Opéra de Marseille and the National Symphony Orchestra of the Polish Radio in Katowice. He was particularly appreciated for his interpretations of George Enescu's music — critics even wrote that he “seems created to conduct Enescu's music” — emphasizing the extraordinary fidelity to the score, the expressiveness and the musical sensitivity of his interpretation.

The concert will open with an overture to Gioacchino Rossini's opera Wilhelm Tell — one of the most recognizable works in the history of music. The composer created here a kind of miniature symphonic poem, built from successive musical images related to the action of the opera. Rossini leads the listener from the moody beginning with the cello part, through pastoral scenes and stormy climaxes, to the famous gallop finale. The characteristic rhythms imitating the horse's momentum and the throbbing of hooves have become over time a motif functioning independently of the opera and to this day are among the most recognizable fragments of classical music.

Niccolò Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 6, remains one of the greatest challenges of the violin repertoire. Paganini created a work that was supposed to delight the audience not only with music, but also with an almost incredible performance technique. The piece was probably composed between 1817 and 1818 and from the very beginning it was supposed to dazzle with an unusual sound. Paganini used the scordatura effect — the orchestra's part was written in E major, while the violinist performed his part in D major, tuning the instrument half a tone higher. Due to the increased tension of the strings, the violin acquired a brighter, more shiny sound, clearly contrasting with the darker color of the orchestra. This was another element in the construction of Paganini's legend as an artist who crossed the boundaries of instrumental possibilities.

The evening concludes with Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 1 in B major, Op. 38, “Spring” — a work full of freshness, optimism and youthful energy. The composer wrote the symphony in 1841, shortly after his marriage to Clara Wieck, during a period of enormous creative energy. Inspired by the poetry of Adolf Böttger and the atmosphere of nature awakening to life, he wanted to capture musically the “spring awakening” and the emotional uplift that accompanies the arrival of a new beginning.

Already the first fanfare entrance of trumpets and horns foreshadows music full of light, movement and spontaneous energy. Although Schumann was inspired by the poetic image of spring, he did not create a symphony programmatic—he was more concerned with conveying mood and emotion than literally illustrating nature. The composer combined romantic expression with classical clarity of form, creating a work full of melodiousness and his characteristic poetic imagination.

CONCERT INFORMANT