The programme of the Women’s Day concert specifically highlights women’s role in the art of composition and interpretation. The 19th century was still not favourable to female composers: they were patronised, had to struggle against many prejudices and fight for recognition. The career of the Polish musician Maria Szymanowska is an uplifting example of considerable yet isolated success. Slightly younger than her, Fanny Mendelssohn, of great talent and sensitivity, only partially fulfilled herself in this role. She composed in the shadow of her younger, brilliant brother Felix, and heard from her father: ‘music might become his profession, whereas it can and must remain only an ornament for you’. Her numerous compositions were rarely performed in public and rather admired within the family circle; the authorship of some of them was attributed to her brother. It is only now that her artistic work has become the subject of research and is paving its way onto concert stages. Marked by the classical clarity of form and subtle Romantic expression, the C major Overture, a composition by twenty-five-year-old Fanny, has remained her only orchestral piece.
It is hard to believe that Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, now considered a staple of the repertoire, was no success while premiering in 1919. That indifferently received piece was thenceforth performed solely on rare occasions. Only many years later did the spirited recording of young Jacqueline du Pré (1965) did justice to the unfairly forgotten masterpiece, also ushering in a renaissance of Elgar’s music. An elegiac composition created under the influence of the traumatic experience of the Great War is technically demanding but does not dazzle with virtuosity; instead, it arouses admiration with the wealth of thematic invention, specific harmonic richness and, above all, the depth of its emotional message. These qualities will be demonstrated by the outstanding cellist (as well as pianist and arranger) of the younger generation, Maria Leszczyńska, who has delighted audiences in many countries with the subtlety and tonal beauty of her interpretations. She is the winner of many competitions, including the 2nd Prize of the 12th Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition (2024). Her participation in the concert is a follow-up to the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra Director’s Award for the best Polish performer.
The eminent composer and violinist Grażyna Bacewicz wrote six symphonies the first of which, a piece created in her youth, she withdrew from her musical catalogue. The third one, which premiered in 1952 in Cracow (conducted by Bohdan Wodiczko), was composed during the years of communist oppression, which also affected artists who were constantly exposed to criticism if they did not lean towards the ideals of ‘socialist realism’. This was also the fate of this monumental symphony, and the composer later feared that her work was already démodé in relation to the achievements of the avant-garde of the 1960s following the style in which she could not find her way. History, however, does justice to that work and its author. The logical, very coherent structure of the form, combined with brilliant orchestration and a wealth of kaleidoscopically changing moods, places the piece high among the symphonic achievements of its era and certainly makes it worthy of revisiting more often.
The concert will be conducted by South Korean-born Juya Shin, currently assistant conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2024/2025 season. She is also pursuing master’s degree studies in orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim under the supervision of Stefan Blunier. With experience spanning both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Shin is establishing herself as a versatile and dynamic conductor on the world music stage. (pmac)