Karol Szymanowski
The London Symphony Orchestra has launched its autumn season with a highly successful concert of music from the Polish composer, performed under the baton of much-celebrated Valery Gergiev. A special Discovery Day follows the concert, and many more performances are scheduled later on in the season as Gergiev continues to explore the depths of Szymanowski's music
The season opening concert is an unprecendented event. While in 2012 there are numerous performances commemorating the annivarsary of the Polish composer’s death across the world, it is the first time that such a renowned ensemble plays music by the Polish composer on such a large scale. The artistic director and conductor of the LSO, Valery Gergiev selected all of the four symphonies composed by Szymanowski to be performed internationally. Gergiev also decided to intertwine the pieces by Szymanowski with the well-known music by Johannes Brahms. According the Russian conductor, European audiences who are interested with the already familiar pieces by Brahms, will thus be given a chance to listen to the more challening music by Szymanowski. The idea to perform music from the Polish post-Romantic composer was inspired by the director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Paweł Potoroczyn.
Igor Toronyi-Lalic of The Arts Desk gave a glowing review of the concert in the days following, calling it "not a bad start to the season", surely inspiring "awe and astonishment" among the audience. The performance of Szymanowski's First Violin Concerto was described as
the stunning filler to a rich romantic sandwich, bookended by the first symphonies of Szymanowski and Brahms. We began with the Szymanowski, which rollercoastered around the orchestra and up and down the dynamic spectrum violently. It was embarrassing when thought of as a psychological portrait, but imagined simply as a musical investigation of loudness - a kind of classical thrash metal - and it quickly became a fascinating and not unsophisticated little study, one that looks forward to the modernist heavy artillery of Xenakis and Birtwistle.
The programme of the Season Opening concert included Szymanowski’s Symphony No 1 and his Violin Concerto No 1, which are juxtaposed with the First Symphony by Brahms. Performing the solo pieces is Janine Jansen from the LSO. The34-year-old Dutch insrrumentalist has already recorded all of the major violin concertos, including those of Vivaldi, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Bruch, Beethoven and Britten. On the official webiste of the Barbican, music from the Polish composer is described as drenched in the evocative Romanticism of the German orchestral masters, Wagner and Strauss, before him. The introduction also quotes the Polish poem Noc Majowa (Night Gathering), which has inspired the composer’s piece: ‘fireflies kiss the wild rose – while death flickers over the pond and plays a wanton song’.
The Discovery Day at the Barbincan which followed the concert invites participants to listen to a LSO rehearsal, as well as a lecture on the life and work of Szymanowski with Polish music specialist Professor Adrian Thomas. The Day is crowned with a performance of Szymanowski's String Quartet No 2 by LSO players. The Orchestra's rehearsal is conducted by Valery Gergiev, and the String Quartet is performed by David Worswick (violin), Rhys Watkins (violin), Robert Turner (viola), and Amanda Truelove (cello).
Born in 1953, the Russian Valery Gergiev is an opera company director and one of the world’s most renowned conductors. Gergiev first guest-conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in 1988, but it was his 2004 appearance with the LSO (which had him conduct the seven symphonies of Sergei Prokofiev) that led to his appointment in 2005 as the Orchestra’s fifteenth principal conductor, succeeding Sir Colin Davis effective January 1, 2007.
Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading orchestras, London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), was founded in 1904. Since its formation it has always attracted excellent players from all over the world, many of whom have flourishing solo, chamber music and teaching careers alongside their orchestral work. The LSO draws on an enviable roster of soloists and conductors. In mid-August, the ensemble presented a fascinating four-concert residency with music from the Polish composer at the Usher Hall. The series of concerts were are a highlight of the Edinburgh International Festival, and formed part of the Polska Arts in Edinburgh endevour. Gergiev’s direction and the ensemble's performance of music from Szymanowski has met with an ethusiastic reception of numerous critics and journalists.
The LSO Szymanowski Project is supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the Polska Music grant programme.
The LSO continues its Szymanowski programme in October and December at the Philharmonie Luxembourg (8&9 October and 13&14 December). For more information, see: www.philharmonie.lu
Event details:
LSO 2012-2013 Season Opening Concert
Valery Gergiev: Brahms and Szymanowski
22nd of September, 2012
7.30 pm, Barbican Hall, London
For more details on the event and ticked booking, see: http://www.barbican.org.uk
LSO Discovery Day: Karol Szymanowski
With Valery Gergiev
23rd of September, 2012
10 am, Barbican Hall and St. Luke’s Hall, London
For more details on the event and ticked booking, see: http://www.barbican.org.uk
Editor: SRS
Source: barbican.org.uk, culture.pl
Thumbnail: Valery Gergiev