SZYMANOWSKI/ GOLIJOV/CHAJKOWSKI

PROGRAMKAROL SZYMANOWSKOktown and Tarantela OSVALDO GolijovazulCello Concerto PIOTR CZAJKOWSKIVI Symphony in B minor, “Pathetic”

Conductor YOEL GAMZOUVioloncello MATTHEW BARLEYOROrchestra of the Grand Theatre - National Opera

Contrasts are the source of the greatest emotions. Calm and anxiety, light and darkness, movement and stillness — although seemingly mutually exclusive, in music they often form a fascinating whole. It is the tension between opposites that binds the program of this concert.

Karol Szymanowski's Nocturne and Tarantella op. 28 were created in stages in 1915 — first a reflective Nocturne, a few months later full of Tarantella's energy. It is difficult to find more contrasting miniatures. The first captivates with its nocturnal mood, subtle ornamentation and melismata evoking the aesthetics of the Middle East — this is the quintessence of Szymanowski's mature style. The second pulsates with rhythm and dance element. Originally written for violin and piano, the work in 1937 received an orchestral version by Grzegorz Fitelberg — conductor, composer and close friend of Szymanowski. This spectacular arrangement is performed relatively rarely today.

Another kind of tension can be found in Azul — Osvald Golijov's Cello Concerto from 2006. In it, the composer combined inspiration from Latin American music with a fascination with the Baroque, especially the work of François Couperin. The eponymous Azul (“blue”) initially evoked the image of a cloudless sky over summer outdoor concerts in Tanglewood. A year after the premiere, during which the solo part was performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Golijov decided to rework the piece. In the new version, tension appeared: the clash of the elements — air with fire, Earth with space. Yoel Gamzou and cellist Matthew Barley will take listeners on a journey from the stars to the depths of the earth.

After this space expedition, Peter Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony in B minor, Op. 74, will sound — a work as monumental as it is deeply personal. Here, too, tension builds opposites. On the one hand, the symphony is permeated by a sublime and almost religious tone, suggested by the subtitle given by the composer's brother, Modesta. On the other hand, it is an intimate farewell. Instead of a triumphant finale, the music gradually fades away, dissolving into silence. It was Tchaikovsky's last work — the composer died just eight days after its premiere. “In this symphony I put, without exaggeration, my whole soul,” he wrote in a letter to Archduke Konstantin Romanov.