Vox Amoris

Finnish violinist Elina Vähälä made her debut on the stage of the ORLEN Main Hall in 2015, in the first weeks of NFM's activity. Jean Sibelius's Violin Concerto in D minor was played at that time — this was the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth. Twelve years later, she will lead the NFM Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra in two orchestral works by her compatriot. In addition, in her performance we will hear a solo part of the fantasy Vox Amoris by Pēteris Vasks. The evening will also be a unique opportunity to listen to Miklós Rózsa's Concerto for String Orchestra.

When talking about the music of the homeland of Vähäli, it is impossible not to mention the name of Sibelius, one of the greatest symphonists of the 20th century. He was also a violinist, which is why he knew very well the particularities of the band, which is the string orchestra. In 1904, the world became acquainted with his Romance in C major op. 42, kept in muted but expressive colours. In the 19th century, the composer arranged two piano imprompts from Op. 5 for this composition. The resulting miniature combines melancholy with inner peace. Sometimes it is in this juxtaposition that one sees the essence of “Northern Romanticism”. On the other hand, the violin-orchestral fantasy Vox amoris should be described in genre as a concert. In choosing this form rather than another, Vasks certainly wanted to draw attention to the freedom of a rambling narrative that seems to illustrate the various shades of the most powerful force that exists in the universe — love. The song, reaching the deepest and most precious depths of feelings, sounded for the first time in 2009 in Sydney.

The evening will be rounded off by the Concerto for String Orchestra by Rózsa, composed in 1943, after the author's move to Hollywood. Hungary was to remain forever a dream factory, where he created the music for Alfred Hitchcock's Enchanted and the historical costume drama Ben Hur directed by William Wyler, among others. In the work that the artists will perform, one often recognizes the disturbing style of the soundtracks of the noir films that Rózsa wrote in the forties. However, there are also vivid echoes of Hungarian music.