CONCERT POSTPONED

phot. Liyasov

Masterpieces of music (or any artistic masterpieces for that matter) often raise questions about their relationship with the biography of the artist. Sometimes these relationships are obvious, expressed explicitly in the form of the author’s commentary or literary programme, and sometimes they remain completely unobvious. Often something can only be sensed, as it remains deeply encoded in the notes to which the composer entrusts his joy, love, and despair or doubt. Piotr Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in H Minor is a particularly moving example of such an extremely subjective and emotionally suggestive work. After its premiere the author added the subtitle “Pathetic”, suggested by his brother, to the score. Although today this notion is mainly associated with sublimity and emphasis, in this case it refers to its etymological, ancient Greek roots, when the word páthos denoted passion, as well as suffering (and that is how it is understood in Russian). For suffering marked almost the entire life of Piotr Tchaikovsky. Although he enjoyed growing recognition and fame, he never experienced happiness in his personal life, and was constantly involved in rather peculiar relationships with women (e.g. with Countess Nadezhda von Meck who adored him and corresponded with him for 13 years, but whom he never met personally). This applies also to his short-lived marriage, which turned out to be a disaster (ending in the composer’s suicide attempt), and the casual, covert and guilt-ridden relationships with men, severely condemned by conventional society of the time. Many contemporary biographers are of the opinion that it was precisely these delicate and traditionally taboo issues that were responsible for the composer’s depression and premature death at the age of 53, at the height of his full creative powers and popularity.

This work, imbued with great expressiveness, finds an excellent interpreter in the great Russian conductor Oleg Zverev. Oleg Zverev is associated with the musical institutions of distant Siberia, including Irkutsk, as well as in Ulyanovsk on the Volga, and he is applauded on the most important stages in Russia and abroad.

A pair of excellent flute players, ranked among the greatest contemporary virtuosos of this instrument, Agata Kielar-Długosz and Lukasz Długosz, will perform Pavel Mykietyn’s Double Concerto, which premiered (in their performance) in 2016. The artists themselves wrote about this work as follows: “It consists of three attacca movements, the first and third of which are based on the composer’s continuous accelerando technique. The innovative approach to the agogic sphere of the work is extremely interesting. The solo parts – in close symbiosis with the orchestra part – are treated very originally. Paweł Mykietyn’s concert will certainly significantly enrich contemporary flute literature. It is wonderful!” [Piotr Maculewicz]

Sinfonia Iuventus reserves right to introduce changes to the programme and performers.