The symphonic meditation Les Offrandes oubliées (The Forgotten Offerings) is a composition by the twenty-two-year-old Oliver Messiaen, who was soon to become one of the major figures in French musical life for many decades. Maintained in the form of a triptych and accompanied by a poetic commentary, it evokes a religious reflection (always significant to the composer) on the salvific sacrifice of Jesus, nowadays increasingly forgotten.
Born in Warsaw to a Jewish family, Mieczysław Wajnberg was educated and began his career in his home town. Later, fleeing from the Germans, he settled in the USSR and that country was to become his second homeland, where he gained recognition (supported there by Shostakovich, who appreciated his talent and befriended him), but his career path was not easy. During the Stalinist era, he fell into disfavour as a composer of ‘pessimistic’, ‘bourgeois’ music, too saturated with ‘Jewish’ motifs. For quite a long time, only a few of his numerous compositions were performed outside Russia. This has been changing in recent years, with the works of the composer, always mindful of his Warsaw roots, also returning more frequently to Polish stages. The concert will feature the brilliant, grotesquely humorous Trumpet Concerto (1968), one of his most popular achievements. It will be performed by Jakub Waszczeniuk, a graduate of the Academy of Music in Wrocław and the first trumpet soloist of the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra. Performing with this Orchestra and many other ensembles, he is admired in many countries and also collaborates with jazz musicians and big bands.
Beethoven's Fourth Symphony seems to remain somewhat in the shadow of its famous odd-numbered "neighbors." Yet it is also a work of genius—though, unlike those symphonies, it does not titanically struggle against adversity but rather affirms all that is good, beautiful, and joyful. Not without a touch of mischievous humor, it draws upon Haydn’s legacy. It is preceded by a mysterious introduction that seems to foreshadow something dramatic—making the contrast all the greater when the first movement bursts forth with exuberant joy and dynamic contrasts. The Adagio breaks away from the conventional "lyrical episode" format—it has a fascinating, perfectly proportioned structure and shimmers with a wealth of diverse emotions; more than any other part of the symphony, it heralds the Romantic style. The finale, following the minuet, corresponds in its joyful, at times almost burlesque (the bassoon solo!) mood with the first movement. Great energy here is not accompanied by the usual Beethovenian pathos and heroism.
Originally from Armenia, Alexandr Iradyan, who will conduct the concert, has been the artistic director of the Warmia and Mazury Philharmonic in Olsztyn since 2024. He studied (also composition and piano) in Yerevan, Brussels and Berlin, where he is a lecturer in conducting and the artistic director of Sonoris Orchestra Berlin. He also serves as a guest conductor of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia and performs with numerous ensembles from many countries, winning public and critical acclaim. (pmac)
