End of the 25th National Festival “Stars Promote”

Beethoven's romances are the works of a young composer leaving the care of his master, Haydn, in search of his own style and means of expression. As in the case of Chopin's piano concertos, Romance in G major was written after the completion of Romance in F major, but it was first published in print, so their numbering is the opposite of the actual order of creation. In Romance Op. 40, Beethoven brings the traditional form to the ground of the roundabout: a recurring main theme interspersed with couplets, in which the relationship between the soloist and the orchestra becomes increasingly complex. The work came at a relatively difficult time for the composer, who was then faced with the grim reality of inevitable hearing loss — barely a year later, in 1802, Beethoven wrote his famous Heiligenstadt testament; nevertheless, Romance No. 1 marks the entry into the Romantic era with a certain step.

As the reviewer of the Berliner Bürsenzeitung wrote after the premiere of Karłowicz's Violin Concerto Op. 20 on 21 March 1903 at the Beethoven-Saal in Berlin, “the best part is probably the first part with a dynamic theme and a deeply lived lyrical fragment”. The work, written for the composer's violin professor, Stanisław Barcewicz, from the very beginning enjoyed great success both among the public and critics. Appreciated for its “subtle and fresh” accompaniment of the orchestra and its spectacular solo part, rich in figuration and numerous multi-sounds, led the critic of the “Weekly Review” in his account of the Warsaw concert of 28 November 1904 to compare Karłowicz to Vieuxtemps.

The only concert in the work of the Finnish composer places great technical demands on the soloist — although still less than the original. The disastrous premiere of the original version in Helsinki in 1904 — partly due to the unavailability of the excellent violinist Willy Burmester and the need to find a replacement — prompted Sibelius to make profound revisions and slightly shorten the work. The premiere of the revised version took place only a year later in Berlin, but even then Burmester, to whom Sibelius dedicated the work, could not participate. The second performance without his participation was regarded by Burmester as an affront so serious that he refused to perform the Concerto altogether — and Sibelius was forced to change his dedication to another violinist, the then twelve-year-old Ferenc von Vecsey. However, even a young Hungarian was not able to fully cope with the virtuoso part of this work, extraordinary not only in the composer's work, but also among other violin concertos. The extended tenure of the soloist in the first part, preserved in sonata form, plays the role of processing, moreover, the dialogues between the violin and the orchestra are limited. The lack of clear inspiration from Finnish folklore does not detract from the Northern Concerto's Sibelius character and symphonic artistry.

Carmen Fantasie was created for the brilliant violinist Jascha Heifetz as part of the music for the 1946 film Humoresque, for which Waxman received an Oscar. On the silver screen, however, you can see the hands of young Isaak Stern, who replaced Heifetz during the recording. This virtuoso piece is based on themes taken from Carmen Bizet's opera put together in a brilliant pastis. The orchestra, which remains quite faithful to the original sound, plays the role of practically only the companion of the soloist who gives character. Its stability and withdrawn position creates a wide space for technical and color displays entrusted to solo violins. The work, willingly developed for other solo instruments, is still very popular today for its gratitude and showiness.

The mysterious introduction to Beethoven's Symphony No. 4, which revolves around minor keys, avoids the essential B major, leads to the energetic sonata form that forms the core of the first part. The part that follows it is distinguished by the endearing use of solo parts of woodwind instruments. Its lyricism brings to mind sunny, southern landscapes. The third part is characterized by the abundant use of syncope and irregular accents, it is the prototype of the scherza. The last paragraph is an extremely lively and technically demanding perpetuum mobile — this is no coincidence, because the symphony was written for one of the most outstanding orchestras of the time, operating at the court of Count Franz von Oppersdorff in Głogowek. The order was carried out extremely quickly, but soon critics became interested in the new composition — the first reviews appeared only 5 years after the completion of the composition. Today, the Fourth Symphony is still unjustly lost in the shadow of the third and fifth. Written for a smaller orchestra, it is distinguished by its classical beauty and the joy of life beating from the piece — it is possible that the style of the piece was influenced by Beethoven's blossoming affection for Josephine Brunsvik.

Official Festival website: https://gwiazdypromuja.pl/?lang=pl