17 February 2018, 7.00 p.m.
Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Studio in Warsaw

Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 of in D major from 1795 marks his farewell to the genre of music that owes its lush flourishing to Haydn, and which has become the trademark of his rich and diverse work. Only 5 years later, Beethoven, a student of Haydn (although these studies were rather episodic) and his spiritual heir, would compose his first symphony. Haydn did not rather create his work as a “summary of the epoch”, with the intention of looking back on his own achievements and pointing out future paths of the symphony’s development, but because of its position as an opus ultimum, that is how the Symphony in D major is perceived. The pathos-filled, minor-key introduction that opens it has the energy of Beethoven’s later titanic compositions. The joyful theme of the main Allegro brings relaxation, although in this part of it, there is a mood of sublime pathos foreshadowed by the introduction, and in the concise, very interesting transformation there appear dramatic and heroic elements, again seeming to herald the Beethoven style. The Andante begins with a simple, calm theme, followed by an unexpected episode of a dramatic, harmonically rich and texturally rich forte – a bit like in the analogous place of Mozart’s “Jupiter’s”. Some people have sought to identify it as the master’s homage to his younger, prematurely deceased friend. In the minuet, Haydn returns to his favourite formula of this dance, in the ribald style (which is emphasized by playful accents on the third part of the measure), rather that of a plebeian ländler than the courtly original –more contrast is brought by the subtle, somewhat mysterious trio of this movement. Since the Symphony in D major belongs to the second London cycle, Haydn made a bow to the English audience in the finale, quoting as the main theme the melody of the popular song “Hot Cross Buns” with folk features, emphasized by the bourdon accompaniment. The vivid finale in the form of a Sonata Allegra (with a strongly contrasting, lyrical secondary motif) is also the last, beautiful page of Haydn’s symphony.
We will be transported into a completely different world by Tchaikovsky’s arch-romantic, but branded with tragedy, Symphony No. 4 in F minor. The work was written in a dramatic period after the composer’s very short failed marriage to his former student, Antonina Miliukov. Tchaikovsky fell into a depression afterwards and even attempted suicide. He was helped by his family and his mysterious protector, Nadezhda von Meck. The extremely wealthy widow of a railway magnate extended a discreet patronage over the composer, supporting him materially and spiritually – they led a lively correspondence, but they never met. In his letters to Nadezhda, Tchaikovsky confessed that his newly composed (and dedicated to her) work, which he described using an analogy to Beethoven’s Fifth as a “symphony of fate”, reflected the state of his wounded soul and the tragedy of his personal experiences. Especially the first part was – in the words of his letter to von Meck – an image of a hopeless drifting on a stormy sea, until it swallows us in its depths. Part II, “in modo di canzona”, which starts with a beautiful oboe solo, brings a moment of nostalgic reverie. The Scherzo is intriguing and tonally unusual, with strings playing pizzicato the entire time, and finally the monumental finale, sparkling with the brass fanfares, brings relaxation – this, according to the author’s commentary, was an image of carefree folk fun (symbolised by the quotation of the popular song “Vo pole bereza stoyala”), in which one can find forgetfulness and comfort. The work, full of extraverted emotion (expressed so strongly for the first time, and which would become a distinctive characteristic of Tchaikovsky’s style in the future), immediately met with misunderstanding, both in Russia (the symphony premiered in Moscow on 10 [22] February 1878 – the Polish Iuventus Symphony Orchestra concert takes places nearly exactly on the 140^th anniversary of this event) and in Germany and the US. They were only received enthusiastically by the British audience. Years later, from the perspective of Tchaikovsky’s other achievements, the beauty and the significance of the work, in which the artist reveals his most hidden feelings to his listeners, was finally appreciated.

Performers:
Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra
Monika Wolińska | conductor

Programme:
Pyotr Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 104 in D major

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Media Patronage: Polskie Radio Program 2, Presto, Art Post, Twoja Muza, polmic.pl

Tickets available at bilety24, eBilet and sklep.polskieradio.pl, as well as in the box office of W. Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio one hour before the concert