Sinfonia Iuventus in Busko-Zdrój

3 July, 7:00 PM
Buskie Samorządowe Centrum Kultury, Busko-Zdrój

Performers:
Artur Jaroń | piano
Konstanty Andrzej Kulka | violin
Tomasz Strahl | cello
Jerzy Semkow Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra
Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk | Conductor

Programme:
George Gershwin – Piano Concerto in F Major
interval
J. Brahms – Double Concerto in A Minor for Violin and Cello, op. 102
G. Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue

The Double Concerto in A minor for violin and cello is Johannes Brahms’s final work for the orchestra. He wrote it for his two friends – Robert Hausmann, a cellist who performed chamber music by Brahms on multiple occasions, and Joseph Joachim, a great violinist who was Brahms’s childhood friend, although their friendship was marred by the controversies surrounding the virtuoso’s divorce. This work, which Brahms dedicated to Joachim, was supposed to be a gesture of reconciliation. The musicians performed it together under Brahms’s baton (Cologne, 1887). However, the premiere received a rather cold reception – this deep, meditative work avoids ‘shallow’ virtuosity and delights with the depth of its expression and elaborate harmonics. It is also a challenging test of the soloists’ experience and maturity. A performance by such virtuosos as Konstanty Andrzej Kulka and Tomasz Strahl will fully convey the nostalic intentions of the neo-Romantic composer.

George Gershwin was one of the first composers to draw his inspirations from jazz and blues. He quickly captured the attention of audiences across the United States, and Paul Whiteman, the leader of a renowned big band, approached him to write ‘a jazz concerto for the piano.’ This is how Rhapsody in Blue (instrumentalized together with Whiteman) was created. The work premiered on 12 February 1924 in New York City. Gershwin played the piano part himself, which was technically an improvisation (its final version was written down after the performance). The work became stunningly successful with the audience, which gave rise to other jazz-influenced compositions by Gershwin, such as the slightly less known Second Rhapsody, An American in Paris, Porgy and Bess opera and the 1924 Concerto in F. In the intervening period of just one year between Concerto in F and the Rhapsody, Gershwin’s talent and skills developed remarkably. The new piece, orchestrated by the author himself, is also proof of excellent knowledge of form and texture, which was appreciated by both the audience and the critics, as well as pianists, who often include it in their repertoires.

The solo part will be performed by Artur Jaroń, Director of the Krystyna Jamroz International Music Festival in Busko-Zdrój and the concert will be conducted by Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, Artistic Director of the Henryk Mikołaj Górecki Silesian Philharmonic and member of the Artistic Council of Jerzy Semkow Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra. [Piotr Maculewicz]

Tickets available at Dom Kultury, Busko-Zdrój, Mickiewicza 22 street, +48 41 370 54 20, 41 370 54 21, rezerwacja@bsck.busko.pl

The concert is organized by Buskie Samorządowe Centrum Kultury.